‘They Just Threw the Book at Donald Trump’: Ari Melber Says Jan. 6 Committee Just Declared Ex-President ‘A Felon, An Insurrectionist’

MSNBC host Ari Melber called the January 6 congressional committee’s criminal referrals for Donald Trump the “highest, most aggressive possible case” they could have laid out.

Committee members announced at their final hearing that they are recommending the Department of Justice charge the former president inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and obstruction of an official proceeding.

The committee showed a collection of findings from their investigation and even made new accusations, including that Trump and his associates allegedly offered employment to some witnesses being relied on in the Capitol riot investigation.

“This is a huge deal. They just threw the book at Donald Trump,” Melber declared on MSNBC shortly after the referrals were announced.

Melber said the committee sent a clear message to Trump, labeling him “felon, an insurrectionist, [and] someone who wanted to riot but just physically couldn’t get there.”

“The committee is basically saying, ‘we got you. we have the receipts, we have the video, this all was planned,” he added.

Melber acknowledged some may be rolling their eyes at the criminal referrals, considering the efforts that have gone into trying to take Trump down through political and legal means, but the MSNBC host claims this time is completely different and spells potentially very real trouble for Trump, who continues to deny any wrongdoing.

“The difference now is this does formalize a method for the DOJ to process these referrals, to do its work that’s already ongoing with the special counsel probe, and then ultimately to decide whether one or more of these is actionable, is indictable,” Melber said.

Watch above via MSNBC