US Attorney Defends Justice Department Investigation into Capitol Assault
The US Department of Justice continues its investigation into the assault on the Capitol.
Photo: Brent Stirton / Getty Images
The attorney general of the United States, Merrick Garland, defended on Thursday the investigation of the US Department of Justice of the “intolerable assault” on the Capitol last January 6, in which five people died, after Republican lawmakers have criticized those investigations.
In a hearing before the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives, Garland assured that he has “great confidence” in the federal prosecutors in charge and who, in his opinion, “are doing exactly what they are expected to do.” in one of the “most complex and largest” investigations in the history of the country.
“The violence we witnessed that day was an intolerable assault, not only on the Capitol and the brave police personnel who sought to protect it, but also on a fundamental element of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power,” Garland said in his first hearing before that committee.
According to his testimony, the Department of Justice is making an “extraordinary effort” to hold those involved in this event accountable to the US justice system..
The assault on the Capitol, which left 5 dead and 140 law enforcement officers attacked, was aimed at preventing Congress from ratifying Biden’s victory in the November elections, as a result of former President Donald Trump’s (2017-2021) allegations without evidence that there was election fraud.
Garland said that so far about 650 people have been indicted on charges related to the January assault., including 165 people accused of crimes of assault on authority.
The attorney general made this defense of the investigation of the department that he leads after several Republican legislators, such as Louie Gohmert, representative for Texas, criticized the ways of proceeding of the American judiciary.
On his turn, Gohmert asked Garland if any of the defendants have been indicted on charges of “insurrection”, a term “widely used by Democrats” to refer to the assault on January 6.
“No,” Garland replied, without adding more details.
Some of the charges brought against the defendants so far are: knowingly and unauthorized entering or staying on restricted land; violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds; and theft of property or public records.
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