Merrick Garland should reveal any Jan. 6 probe of Trump to restore 'public confidence': MSNBC analyst

Attorney General Merrick Garland should use his planned speech about Jan. 6 on Wednesday to indicate that his office is investigating all responsible parties, including former President Donald Trump, according to former acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal.

Katyal said he's been "very patient" with Garland, adding that no one was "more meticulous" or "more careful" as a judge.

"But I'm getting worried," Katyal said. "Nobody's asking Merrick Garland to get up in his speech tomorrow and announce indictments against Donald Trump and his pals. Merrick Garland is the attorney general; he is not Santa Claus. But we are all hoping for some reassurance from him that he's investigating all leads and all people who may be responsible. So that's what I want to hear tomorrow, and right now we've heard really crickets."

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Katyal added that while Garland's Department of Justice has secured convictions against 275 "rank-and-file" Capitol rioters, there has been nothing but silence about "higher-ups." He said there are two main possibilities.

"One is that Garland is too scared of his shadow and he's doing nothing," Katyal said. "Or the other is that he's got a secret investigation, and we just don't know about it. And it's rare to think an investigation of this magnitude could be kept secret, but I suppose it's possible. The thing that concerns me is that the governing documents here, the U.S. Attorneys' Manuals, do say that when the public confidence requires an announcement of an investigation, it can be done, so we've heard silence in the teeth of what the U.S. Attorney's Manual says, and that to me is concerning."

Watch the full interview below.

Neal Katyal on Merrick Garlandwww.youtube.com