“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” the judge wrote in a civil case, referring to the former president’s efforts to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to upend the certification of the Electoral College results.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled on Monday that former President Donald J. Trump and a lawyer who advised him on how to overturn the 2020 election most likely committed felonies, including obstructing the work of Congress and conspiring to defraud the United States.

The judge’s comments marked a significant breakthrough for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which had laid out in a civil filing* the crimes it believed Mr. Trump might have committed as it weighs making a criminal referral to the Justice Department.

* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/us/politics/trump-criminal-charges-jan-6.html