Raskin says nailing Trump on alleged crimes ‘would not be that satisfying’

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who served on the now-defunct Jan. 6 committee that referred former President Trump for criminal charges, said on Wednesday that nailing the former president on his various alleged crimes “would not be that satisfying.”

“We’re talking about a pathetic, old man, a coward,” Raskin told Andy Slavitt, a former official in the Obama and Biden administrations, in an interview for Slavitt’s podcast. “And so, even if he were to get his comeuppance in court finally in his late 70s or 80s, what would it really mean?”

“What we need to do is to figure out how to stop all of the Donald Trumps in the future and these horrific movements and forces he’s unleashed against us as a democracy,” Raskin added.

The Jan. 6 committee, which officially dissolved with the beginning of the 118th Congress on Tuesday, recommended in its final public meeting last month that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate Trump for inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and obstruction of an official proceeding.

While the Justice Department does not have to take up referrals from congressional committees, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said he was “convinced” that the agency would eventually charge Trump.

The DOJ currently has two investigations connected to the former president being led by special counsel Jack Smith, including its probes into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and the classified documents recovered from Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.

The Jan. 6 committee’s final report also presented several recommendations to prevent another incident like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including blocking Trump from holding office under the 14th Amendment and increasing Congress’s power to enforce subpoenas.

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