Jan. 6 panel weighs new DOJ cooperation after Trump world subpoenas

Source: Politico | September 13, 2022 | Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu

Select committee chair Bennie Thompson said “it’s time for the committee to determine whether or not the information we’ve gathered can be beneficial to their investigation.”

A week after federal prosecutors bombarded Trump world with Jan. 6-related subpoenas, the chair of Congress’ Capitol attack committee said members are actively discussing how quickly to deliver its evidence trove to the Justice Department.

“We have a meeting on Friday. I plan to bring it up,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday, following a roughly four-hour-long meeting of the Jan. 6 select committee. “I think now that the Department of Justice is being proactive in issuing subpoenas and other things, I think it’s time for the committee to determine whether or not the information we’ve gathered can be beneficial to their investigation.”

Any decision to provide more material doesn’t seem imminent. In a statement, a committee spokesperson emphasized the select panel would “reach decisions” on sharing more information in “the report or otherwise” in October or November.

“The committee has thus far made a significant volume of material publicly available in more than 20 hours of public hearings. We are preparing for additional public presentations in one or more hearings this month,” said the spokesperson, who was granted anonymity to provide clarity on the panel’s planning.

Thompson’s comment, while not a final decision, represents one of several significant questions the select committee faces in its final stretch. The Justice Department has repeatedly asked congressional investigators to turn over their transcripts since April. But any delivery of evidence could complicate some of the ongoing prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants, many of whom have demanded access to any committee transcripts received by prosecutors.

Until late July, the panel had resisted efforts to produce transcripts to the Justice Department, preferring to maintain a tight grip on their prized evidence — particularly amid concerns among some lawmakers that prosecutors needed to more aggressively investigate former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Though it’s unclear whether the committee will ultimately opt to send more of its 1,000-plus witness transcripts to the Justice Department, Thompson’s comments represent a significant recognition from the panel; namely, that the agency’s probe has now — at least publicly — begun making significant inroads into Trump’s inner circle. Last week, prosecutors rained more than 40 subpoenas onto key figures who aided Trump in his efforts to subvert President Joe Biden’s win.

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