After Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., outlined the criminal referrals it was making for Trump, John Eastman and others, the committee voted unanimously to transmit their referrals to the Justice Department.

"We understand the gravity of each and every referral we are making today, just as we understand the magnitude of the crime against democracy that we describe in our report -- but we have gone where the facts in the law lead us, and inescapably, they lead us here," Raskin said.

It is now up to the Justice Department to pursue the charges or even acknowledge them, but it's not obligated to do.

"We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice and that the agencies and institutions responsible for ensuring justice under law will use the information we provided to aid in their work," Thompson said at the start of the meeting.

Rep. Jamie Raskin announced four criminal referrals for Trump to the Department of Justice. Those referrals are: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Make a False Statement and “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid and Comfort” an Insurrection.

In a dramatic climax, Rep. Jamie Raskin announced that the evidence obtained by the committee "warrants a criminal referral, of former president Donald J. Trump, John Eastman and others."

"We propose to the committee advancing referrals where the gravity of the specific offense, the severely of its actual harm and the centrality of the offender to the overall design of the unlawful scheme to the overall election compel to us speak," Raskin said. "Ours is not a skim of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass."

Raskin said "the starting point" of their analysis is how a federal judge already found Trump's and John Eastman's pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence to obstruct the congressional count of electoral votes "more likely than not" violated two federal criminal statutes: obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The announcement of the referrals is ongoing.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, in his opening remarks, focused on how Trump attempted to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally overturn his 2020 election loss.

Aguilar said Trump "embraced an illegal scheme" proposed by attorney John Eastman that claimed the vice president has the power to reject electoral votes during the joint session of Congress to certify the votes.

The scheme, Aguilar said, culminated in a "dangerous threat to Mr. Pence's life on Jan. 6."

"Rioters at the Capitol were heard chanting, 'Hang Mike Pence' through the afternoon," Aguilar said. "As a result of this unrest, Vice President Pence was forced to flee to a secure location."

Rep. Liz Cheney will make a last high-profile stand against Donald Trump when the Jan. 6 committee holds its final public meeting in a matter of hours -- as sources say it's preparing to recommend the first-ever criminal charges against a former president.

It's cost the Wyoming Republican her political career to take on Trump, but she's said she has no regrets -- making the case she has a higher mission: to keep him from ever regaining the White House.

After voting to impeach Trump, and then accepting an invitation to serve on the select committee, she lost her No. 3 House GOP leadership position and ultimately, her congressional seat.

But in doing so, she also won unlikely supporters as she exposed what she called Trump's seven-point plan to steal the election and admonished her Republican colleagues who, she said, lacked the courage to do the same.

Click here for some of Cheney's most memorable moments.