In our democracy, no one is above the law. Not even a former president of the United States.

Today, after over a year of rigorous investigation, the House Select Committee on January 6 issued four criminal referrals of Donald Trump to the Justice Department.

Everyone who bears responsibility for the attack on our democracy on that dark day — everyone who participated in that attempted coup — should be held accountable. We need to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has already appointed an independent special counsel (with experience tackling public corruption and prosecuting war crimes) to oversee criminal investigations around Donald Trump. The attorney general is making it clear that any decisions will be totally outside the political sphere.

And that’s the way it should be, because accountability isn’t about scoring political points — it’s about protecting the foundation of our democracy. It’s about ensuring the American people’s ability to choose their own leaders. It’s about honoring the right to vote and the right to have those votes counted, without having results overturned by a violent mob egged on by the person who lost the election.

I’m going to keep a close eye on where the investigations go from here. And I’ll keep working to defend and strengthen our democracy.

Elizabeth