Vast trove of hidden Jan. 6 evidence poised to be unlocked by two federal judges: report

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is poised to obtain an extensive collection of new records related to the insurrection.

"Most Americans haven't heard of Beryl Howell and Tanya Chutkan. Yet these two federal judges are poised to help deliver troves of hidden information to congressional investigators over the next few weeks that could dramatically reshape the public's understanding of the Jan. 6 insurrection," Politico reported Thursday.

Howell is weighing whether to allow former President Donald Trump to keep White House records from investigators.

"In recent days, Howell, the chief of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and a 2010 Obama appointee, has implicitly encouraged Jan. 6 defendants to cooperate with congressional investigators. Last week, she praised a convicted rioter, Leonard Gruppo, for his decision to be interviewed by the select committee last month," Politico reported.

Howell could partially see the attack from her courthouse window. She's very familiar with the building after spending nearly a decade as a top aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee under the chairmanship of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

"Howell has made clear she views her role partly as helping force more facts about the insurrection into the public domain. She has pressed for the public release of surveillance footage closely held by the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as other videos relied upon by prosecutors. She has pressed defendants themselves to articulate the reasons they entered the Capitol, going beyond what most other judges have asked of defendants in their courtrooms," the report noted.

Meanwhile, Chutkan is presiding over a second case aimed at blocking the National Archives from sharing evidence.

"Those records include hundreds of pages culled from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows, adviser Stephen Miller and counsel Patrick Philbin. They include call and visitor logs, speech drafts and memos that the Archives said were directly relevant to House investigators. Archivist David Ferriero plans to ship a first batch to lawmakers on Nov. 12 unless a court intervenes," Politico noted. "Chutkan hasn't indicated where she'll land on Trump's effort, but legal experts say they're confident she'll see no merit in Trump's unprecedented and expansive view of executive privilege for a former president."

Read the full report.