Tag: Justice Department

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump January 6 Justice Department

DOJ Plans To Hit Trump With An ‘Appeal-Proof’ Charge For His Role In January 6: Report

Now that several members of the domestic terrorist group the Oath Keepers have been convicted for seditious conspiracy, many have suggested that disgraced, one-term former president Donald Trump should be charged with the same thing for his role in inciting the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6 referred the ex-president to the Justice Department on four charges — obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, inciting or assisting an insurrection, and conspiracy to make a false statement — in December, but Hugo Lowell of The Guardian suggested Tuesday morning that the DOJ will likely try to build a narrow, “appeal-proof” case against Trump.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Lowell remarked:

“The Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy verdicts really come about because the government had concrete evidence that the leaders of the Oath Keepers effectively engaged in political violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and because it was presented in that way and because, you know, the Oath Keepers had a quick reaction force across the river in Virginia. They had weapons and ammunition, and they were texting about we can come to the Capitol, and, you know, bring fire support if you really need it. I think that’s the kind of evidence that’s convincing for a jury.”

Lowell continued:

“It’s the kind of evidence that we’re missing as of yet with Trump, and that’s why I think that the Justice Department is looking more at an obstruction of an official proceeding kind of thing for Trump, as opposed to, you know, seditious conspiracy. I don’t think it materially makes any difference because they are still really serious felonies and they carry lengthy prison terms, and the Justice Department doesn’t like to score big home runs, they like to score single hits, and if they can find one charge that sticks with Trump, they would much prefer that.”

Ultimately, Lowell concluded, the Justice Department wants a solid case that will stand up to any appeal:

“They want a sustained conviction, they just don’t want a conviction, they want to sustain it upon appeal,” he added, “and I think he was talking about how you want to make sure it follows through all the way. They’re much more likely to take a lesser charge that is more likely to be sustained than the big charge.”

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Congress GOP Justice Department

The DOJ Just Gave A Giant Middle Finger To Jim Jordan And His Planned ‘Investigations’

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and several of his House GOP colleagues had it all planned out: They would conduct “investigations” of any number of things regarding the Justice Department, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

But if Jordan and his cohorts were expecting the DOJ to acquiesce, they found out Friday that the department will not cooperate in any manner whatsoever because doing so might jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations.

According to Politico, Justice communicated their intentions in a letter sent to Jordan.

“Consistent with longstanding policy and practice, any oversight requests must be weighed against the Department’s interests in protecting the integrity of its work,” Carlos Uriarte, DOJ’s legislative affairs chief, wrote in the five-page letter. “Longstanding Department policy prevents us from confirming or denying the existence of pending investigations in response to congressional requests or providing non-public information about our investigations.”

Clearly, the DOJ is laying down a marker and letting Jordan and others in the GOP know that they won’t be bullied or intimidated. However, Justice will cooperate in ways that are consistent with how it has handled past congressional requests for information, citing a precedent that goes back to the Reagan administration.

The Justice Department letter cites a 1982 directive from President Ronald Reagan, stressing that the administration would try to respond to congressional oversight requests and avoid invoking executive privilege, reserving it for use “only in the most compelling circumstances.” Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, said DOJ would respect the committee’s “legitimate efforts” to seek information, “consistent with our obligation to protect Executive Branch confidentiality interests.”

Jordan will likely be furious by the letter from Uriarte, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He has no right to any information about ongoing DOJ investigations and cannot compel them to share anything with him or his committee.

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Congress GOP Justice Department

Here’s How Democrats Can Use Jim Jordan’s ‘Investigations’ Of The DOJ Against Him

Despite the fact that he’s personally compromised on any number of fronts (not the least of which is his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is about to crank up all sorts of hearings in the House of Representatives targeting the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

As recently as last August, Jordan even suggested he might want to impeach Garland, telling Newsmax host Rob Schmitt:

“I think everything is on the table, we have got to take our message to the American people and not get overconfident but campaign in a confident way, win back the majority.”

And now Jordan wants to open hearings regarding the “weaponization” of the DOJ in the Biden administration, even though the main reason he’s doing so is to satisfy right-wingers and former president Donald Trump, who still has his panties in a wad as a result of the FBI serving a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago for classified documents he was told by a court to turn over.

But as Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post notes, Democrats on the committees can turn the tables on Jordan and his GOP allies.

How? Consider Rubin’s excellent op-ed in which she lays out these points:

Put Republicans under the Microscope

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), for example, had his phone seized by the FBI last year as part of its investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Perry says he was told he’s not a target of the investigation, but it’s clear he played a key role in the ploy to install then-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general. The warrant for his phone also indicates that there was probable cause that a crime had been committed and that there was evidence on his phone.

Perry now wants to serve on the very committee that will investigate the DOJ even though he is personally under investigation by that same agency.

Use the panel to continue the Jan. 6 committee’s work

As I’ve argued, the Jan. 6 committee never got to the bottom of the FBI’s failure to operationalize intelligence about violence at the U.S. Capitol. Nor did the committee uncover why the Pentagon failed to promptly authorize mobilization of the National Guard or why messages from the U.S. Secret Service from that day were apparently erased. Democrats should press for answers on those questions. They should also seek testimony under oath from key officials, such as former acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller.

Exploit the GOP’s argument against congressional oversight

This would turn Jordan and the GOP’s bizarro logic on its head, and it would also serve to point out the blatant hypocrisy of Republicans.

Now, Democrats can use Republicans’ argument against them. MAGA inquisitors have left little doubt that the sole purpose of the committee is to skewer prosecutors, meddle in ongoing criminal matters and protect Trump. This blatantly violates separation of powers, constituting its own politicization. Therefore, any subpoena of information from the Justice Department’s investigations can and should be challenged not only for violating separation of powers but also for absence of a legitimate legislative purpose.

It’ll be fun to watch Jordan if and when any of these tactics are used by Democrats. And if they really want to push Jimbo’s buttons, they should also ask him what he knew and when it knew it about the rape of wrestlers on the team he served as an assistant coach for at Ohio State University and his possible involvement in the Capitol insurrection.

If Jim Jordan wants “transparency,” let’s see just how transparent he’s willing to be.

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Capitol Insurrection Congress January 6 Justice Department

Jordan And McCarthy Are ‘Quite Likely’ Under Investigation By DOJ For Their Role In Jan. 6: Report

As they prepare to take control of powerful committees and leadership positions in the House, two members of the new Republican majority are also facing serious legal jeopardy, according to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade.

McQuade said that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are facing serious scrutiny for their roles in the January 6, 2022 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to Newsweek.

The biggest threat to both men, according to McQuade, is what the Justice Department may have planned for them.

“I think they’re quite likely under investigation. Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy, I mean we know that they were having direct communications with Donald Trump on January 6. At this point, I suppose they [the January 6 committee] consider them to be witnesses, but I think they’d want to know what they have to say.”

Additionally, McQuade said that Jordan and McCarthy may be invited for a interview by DOJ officials. If they refuse, a subpoena for their testimony before a grand jury will likely be used to “compel” their cooperation.

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection released an 845-page report on Thursday which mentiones Jordan as a”significant player” in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election:

“He participated in numerous post-election meetings in which senior White House officials, Rudolph Giuliani, and others, discussed strategies for challenging the election, chief among them claims that the election had been tainted by fraud.”

The Jan. 6 panel subpoenaed Jordan earlier this year, but he failed to comply and appear for a scheduled deposition on May 27.

McQuade noted that while it’s controversial for the DOJ to go after members of Congress, it’s not unprecedented.

“It’s highly sensitive to go after information from a sitting member of Congress, but they’re not being targeted because they’re members of Congress, they’re being targeted because of their conduct and conversations with Donald Trump on January 6.”

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Crime Donald Trump Justice Department

The DOJ Has Opened A New Front In Their Probe Of Donald Trump: Report

A subpoena issued by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed to oversee all of the Trump investigations for the Department of Justice, suggests that DOJ is opening a new front that could well lead to criminal charges against failed former president Donald Trump.

NBC News correspondent Ken Dilianian explained on MSNBC that Smith’s demand for documents from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger concerning Trump’s request that officials in the Peach State “find” the votes necessary to make him the winner is a significant escalation of the case against the ex-president.

“This is a very important moment in this investigation. Until now, it hadn’t been clear that the Justice Department was aggressively pursuing the conduct in Georgia, given the fact that there’s a state investigation down there. That was always a mystery, though. If it was illegal in other states, or potentially illegal, Georgia was the best example, actually with the best evidence. They had the president of the United States on tape pressuring, trying to pressure Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes, and if you remember from the famous conversation, Trump also tried to suggest that they knew the election was corrupt, and it was very risky not to act on that.”

Dilianian continued:

“Andrew Weissmann, our NBC News legal analyst who is known as a very aggressive prosecutor, said early on that Jack Smith is a golden retriever puppy compared to Andrew Weissmann, and you’re really seeing evidence of that, not only with this set of subpoenas to now a total of six states, but also with this secret battle going on in the grand jury where the DOJ is trying to hold in contempt the Trump team over Mar-a-Lago.”

Smith is moving at a rapid pace, which suggests charges against Trump are coming soon, Dilianian concluded:

“He’s moving forward quickly and aggressively, in terms of the subpoenas to the state, if you look at the subpoena, there’s a list of people. Almost everyone we know of who was involved in the effort to overturn the election, Rudy Giuliani, Cleta Mitchell, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn — the DOJ wants communications between those people and state and local election officials and they’re vacuuming them up.”