Nobody has said that this Thursday’s meeting of the January 6 committee will be its last, but it appears as if the fallout over the events of the Capitol is moving to venues with higher stakes. 

That at least, is the opinion of one member of the committee, who told NBC, that “I see it as, look, we did a great job and at some point, it’s like, take the victory and now it’s in the DOJ’s hands.” The satisfied representative declined to venture his name. 

The committee has no further meetings scheduled after this one, which was rescheduled from late September on account of Hurricane Ian. It also has to get typing, as its enabling resolution mandates a written report of its findings be completed this fall. 

The committee produced nine televised hearings before taking a summer break. In an apparent nod to the reality that Thursday’s will be its curtain call, the chairman, Representative Bennie Thompson, noted that “we’re not really looking at bringing witnesses before the committee.”

Mr. Thompson announced another change in format, as well. Rather than a session quarterbacked by one or two members, all nine will get speaking slots this time, in an apparent effort to ensure that everyone gets a turn to sing their swan song. 

If “Closing Time” is playing for the committee, the legal follow up to January 6 appears to be warming up. Last week, the trial of Elmer Stewart Rhodes and a clutch of his Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy kicked off, with prosecutors alleging in opening statements that the group aimed at “armed rebellion.”

Mr. Rhodes counters the charges by arguing that his group was “actually lobbying and preparation for the President to utilize” the Insurrection Act, which empowers the president to summon the military to quell domestic disturbances. Seditious Conspiracy carries a maximum 20 year prison sentence.  

No such defense was mounted by a member of another extremist group, the Proud Boys, who pleaded guilty to the same charge. Rather than face a jury in a trial scheduled to begin in December, Jeremy Bertino pledged “substantial cooperation” in exchange for enrollment in a witness protection program and lenient sentencing. 

Bertino joins three Oath Keepers who have pled guilty to seditious conspiracy, crucial building blocks in the Department of Justice’s effort to build out its case of a far-flung and coordinated assault on the American government. 

Members of the January 6 committee have been explicit in arguing that such a story should feature President Trump. Representative Adam Schiff has expressed his belief that he and his colleagues “should make referrals” but believes, along with Representative Elizabeth “Liz” Cheney, that the decision is best made “as a committee.”

Thus far, only one judge has touched the question of Mr. Trump’s culpability for the events of January 6. In a civil case in California, Judge David Carter held that it was “more likely than not” that the president and his lawyer, John Eastman, committed federal crimes. 

While that finding could encourage the committee to issue a criminal referral — which is not required for the DOJ to act — it is far from what will be required to convict Mr. Trump in a criminal trial, where the standard is not probability but “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As its time in front of the cameras comes to an apparent end, the committee has decisions to make behind closed doors. One of its members, Representative Zoe Lofgren, has been circumspect regarding such a recommendation, musing to the New York Times “maybe we will, maybe we won’t.”