The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol has been tearing it up. They worked straight through the holidays, including on Christmas and New Year’s Day. They’ve interviewed 300-plus witnesses, pursuing those who disobey their subpoenas. In fact, the committee’s work looks a lot like what we might expect a criminal investigation to look like—so much so that Trump’s lawyers are trying to fend off the release of his presidential papers to the committee on the basis that the committee may use them to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
In the meantime, before today’s speech by Attorney General Merrick Garland, we haven’t heard a lot about high-level January 6 investigations from DOJ. We know from the department’s year-end press release that more than 725 cases are in progress. They range from misdemeanors to assaults against Capitol police officers to interference with Congress’s certification of the 2020 election. Some defendants, including members of extremist groups, have been charged with conspiracy. But if you were looking for clear signs that DOJ is investigating those most responsible for the attempt to interfere with the smooth transfer of power, you’d have been hard-pressed to find any. No witnesses protesting grand-jury subpoenas, no leaks of information to the press. Some have suggested Garland’s Justice Department wouldn’t pursue those who are most culpable out of misplaced sentiment that such prosecutions would smack of politics, calling the attorney general feckless and the wrong man for the job.
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Read More: How Donald Trump Turned Jan. 6 into a Windfall
There were some clues DOJ might be investigating. The same year-end press release noted, “The Department of Justice’s resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on Jan. 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane.” DOJ speaks in a restrained voice when commenting on investigations, because investigations don’t always…
Source : time
