In The Jan. 6 Inquiry, Attorney General Garland Said He Will Not Be Bullied By Democrats

Democratic legislators are publicly urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to unleash the full power of American law enforcement against members of former President Donald Trump’s closest circle who have refused to cooperate with the House’s inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack.

Democrats launched an investigation on January 6 and demanded that the Justice Department seek charges against Trump and his aides.

Chad Pergram of Fox News’ congressional team has the latest on the committee’s request to speak with the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas concerning text messages exchanged to former White House top of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says he will not be pressured into investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies in connection with the Capitol incident on Jan. 6.

With Democrats demanding that the Justice Department bring charges on Jan. 6, Garland has promised reporters that he would not be swayed by outside pressure. “The only pressure I feel, and the only pressure our line prosecutors feel, is to do the right thing,” Garland said during a press conference held by the Justice Department on Friday.

“That means we’ll go wherever the facts and the law lead,” Garland continued. Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia, remarked, “Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours.” “We are living up to our responsibilities. The Department of Justice should follow suit “Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., reiterated this sentiment.

More than 770 individuals have been charged with federal charges in connection with the Capitol riot, which occurred when Trump supporters rushed the building in an attempt to prevent Congress from officially certifying his re-election defeat.

During and after the violence, five individuals died, while hundreds more Capitol Police officers were injured. The House select committee is attempting to coerce or penalize Trump supporters who refuse to cooperate with the inquiry, as Republicans are gearing up to retake Congress in November – and put an end to the investigation.

President Biden is on a collision path with his own party as a result of the pressure campaign. To set himself apart from Trump, who was chastised by Democrats for pressing Justice Department employees during his presidency, Biden has committed to maintain Garland’s independence from politics.

He told reporters on Monday, “I said you I wouldn’t tell the Justice Department what position to take or not take, and I’m not going to tell the Congress either.”

Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) all called on Garland to act at a hearing Monday night at which the select committee recommended House contempt votes against former Trump advisers Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro. “Attorney General Garland, do your job so that we can do ours,” Luria said, adding that the Justice Department “must move fast.”

Schiff told reporters on Tuesday that it is critical for the Justice Department to act quickly and decisively to enforce the committee’s prerogatives because “We’re attempting to avoid a repeat of January 6…. We have a strong feeling of urgency, and we believe the department does as well.”

The charges against Navarro and Scavino, according to Schiff, are “quite crystal cut,” and “it shouldn’t be that difficult for the department to act.” The select committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss. ), was asked Tuesday about committee members’ dissatisfaction with the Justice Department’s speed. “I’m in accord with my members,” he said.

The increased calls come three months after the House decided to hold Mark Meadows, the former White House top of staff, in contempt for refusing to cooperate with the inquiry. So yet, no charges have been filed by federal prosecutors. They also come on the heels of reports that Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pushed Meadows to keep seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in more than two dozen messages.

Meanwhile, a federal judge noted that the lawyer and Trump had “started a campaign to overthrow a democratic election, an action unparalleled in American history,” when he ordered a Trump attorney and ardent friend to turn over a trove of papers to the select committee this week.

In addition, the White House said on Tuesday that it will not use executive privilege in the case of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner or Trump’s daughter Ivanka testifying before the committee.

The House Democratic Caucus head, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), said the committee and the Justice Department should not “act under artificial timelines and timeframes that would leave their job unfinished.” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the Democratic caucus’ vice chair and a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said the Justice Department is “dedicated to democracy.”

He also praised the Justice Department for pursuing former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who was charged by a federal grand jury in November for refusing to cooperate with congressional subpoenas. “We hope they act on it with the Meadows citation and others that may follow,” Aguilar added.