Legal expert 'totally convinced' investigators will uncover if Republicans worked with militias on Jan. 6
Former federal prosecutor Nick Ackerman explained on Wednesday that any official who worked with militias in the lead-up to January 6th should be worried.
Speaking to MSNBC's Ari Melber, Ackerman explained that he is "totally convinced" that if House members coordinated with the Three Percenters or Proud Boys online or on their phones that it will be found out and they will be prosecuted.
Indeed, those alleged terrorists who have not been convinced and haven't made a deal with prosecutors would have an opportunity to give up the Republican officials to save themselves. The only person that Republicans could "give up" for a deal would likely be Donald Trump.
Both Melber and Ackerman supported the Justice Department's decision not to defend Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) for his involvement in the January 6th rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tuesday, the House of Representatives counsel also said that they wouldn't defend Brooks with taxpayer dollars.
"He used the word 'patriots' and he used the words 'kicking ass,'" recalled Ackerman. "Particularly when you put that in the context of what Donald Trump said and what Rudy Giuliani said about 'trial by combat.' I mean, this whole -- you put all of these people together in terms of what they were saying to this crowd, they were basically inciting them to go up to the Capitol and riot the place. It is exactly what they did. What they say is what you expected to be the end results."
Ackerman went on to say that it's just "common sense" that there was no way that the DOJ would defend anyone who attempted to overthrow the United States government.
"If someone came at you and tried to murder you and shot you in the arms, you are not going to fund his legal battle or not going to give him a lawyer so he can defend himself against you," he explained. "They stop the constitutional process of counting the votes for president because they didn't like who was elected. Under these circumstances, it would have been absolutely crazy and extreme for the Justice Department to represent Congressman Brooks."
Ackerman went on to explain that at the very least some of the officials and rally speakers will face depositions, including Trump -- and he predicted that the commission would use testimony and subpoenaed phone records to piece together a damning "jigsaw puzzle" of the former president's actions.
"And they don't really have much of a defense here," he said. "I think the more they can dig into the evidence showing that Trump and Rudy Giuliani and Brooks, knew these people had come up, and knew these people were looking for a fight — the more they can show what they were doing were inciting this riot. I am totally convinced once they start to dig into phone records, they find out who these people are meeting with. If Congressman Brooks was meeting with the Three Percenters or the Proud Boys — your duty as a congressman is not trying to overthrow the congress and stop their regular business. That's not going to fly well with the jury and the District of Columbia."
Melber called Brooks's demand that the DOJ represent him one of the "dumber things" he's heard.
"The Brooks defense is like someone accusing him of embezzling from his own bank and saying it is part of my duty," he said.
See the full conversation below:
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