Michael Sherwin, the former top prosecutor leading the investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot, is suggesting former President Donald Trump might be “criminally culpable” for the riot on Jan. 6.
Sherwin, who was leading the Capitol riot investigation until last Friday, spoke with 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley, where he was asked, “Has the role of former President Trump been part of your investigation?”
“It’s unequivocal that Trump was the magnet that brought the people to D.C. on the 6th,” Sherwin, who was appointed by former U.S. Attorney General William Barr as acting U.S. attorney for D.C., responded.
He added, “Now the question is, is he criminally culpable for everything that happened during the siege, during the breach?”
Sherwin continued:
“We have plenty of people — we have soccer moms from Ohio that were arrested saying, ‘Well, I did this because my president said I had to take back our house.’ That moves the needle towards that direction. Maybe the president is culpable for those actions. But also, you see in the public record too, militia members saying, ‘You know what? We did this because Trump just talks a big game. He’s just all talk. We did what he wouldn’t do.'”
Pelley followed-up, asking, “In short, you have investigators looking into the president’s role?”
“We have people looking at everything, correct. Everything’s being looked at,” Sherwin said. “But, so far, prosecutors have not charged sedition — attempting to overthrow the government.”
Watch the interview below:
Scott Pelley asks federal prosecutor Michael Sherwin if investigators are looking into President Trump’s role in January’s Capitol riot.
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 21, 2021
Michael Sherwin: “We have people looking at everything.” https://t.co/JT3n3zANnD pic.twitter.com/EbndYV1nbC
Sherwin also shared that federal prosecutors have found evidence “trending towards” charges of sedition against some people involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Asked if he anticipates any sedition charges, Sherwin said, “I believe the facts do support those charges. And I think that, as we go forward, more facts will support that.”
Sherwin stayed through the transition with the Biden administration but will now return to the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to CBS News.