The U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack issued criminal referrals Monday to the Justice Department for former President Donald Trump.

The committee, whose panel was handpicked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), referred Trump under four criminal statutes. They are obstructing an official proceeding, making false statements, defrauding the U.S. and inciting an insurrection.

Along with recommending criminal prosecution for the former president, the committee also referred Trump lawyer John Eastman and unnamed “others.” The partisan committee also issued House Ethics Committee referrals for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as well as U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Scott Perry (R-Penn.).

In reaction to the panel’s actions, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) said Pelosi and committee Vice Chair U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) “could have saved two years of Congress’s time and millions of taxpayer dollars by announcing today’s pre-ordained decision when they initially created this sham outfit.”

“From its inception, the Democrat and never-Trumper members were clear that the purpose of this so-called ‘select committee’ – named because Speaker Pelosi had sole discretion on its members – was attacking President Trump,” said Moore. “Referring Republicans to the Ethics Committee – including Jim Jordan, who will be the tip of the spear exercising Congressional oversight as Judiciary Chairman – is a transparent attempt to delegitimize constitutional efforts to hold President Biden accountable.”

The committee’s referrals were intended to distract the citizenry from other political happenings, according to Moore.

“It’s no surprise that today’s news comes as Democrats try to distract Americans from a massive $1.7 trillion lame duck spending bill and a border crisis so incendiary that El Paso’s Democrat mayor announced a state of emergency over the weekend,” he said.

“Time and again, Democrats have allowed Trump Derangement Syndrome to take precedence over the disasters facing Americans, including inflation, crime, and the border crisis.”

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL