Trump-appointed judge skeptical of DOJ's bid to bury damning info on MAGA rioter

A Trump-appointed federal judge has ordered Justice Department prosecutors to explain why they want the original sentencing memo for a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter to remain under seal.

In the court order, obtained by Lawfare's Roger Parloff, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols wrote, "The government is to file a memo stating why document [155] should remain sealed and a response regarding Motion [142]."

The controversy stems from the sentencing memo written against Tyler Taranto by the federal prosecutors originally overseeing the case.

In 2023, after President Donald Trump posted the address of former President Barack Obama's house on his Truth Social platform, Taranto went to that location armed with illegal guns, live-streamed himself, and issued a false threat to bomb a government building. He was subsequently arrested.

In the original sentencing memo written by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, the government made references to all these details and sought a 27-month prison sentence.

But earlier this week, the DOJ abruptly placed Valdivia and White on leave, removed the sentencing memo from the docket, and filed a revised one that removed all references to him being a Jan. 6 rioter or Trump having publicly revealed the address shortly before he went to it.

Nichols, who had originally convicted Taranto in a bench trial, ultimately sentenced him to 21 months in prison — which releases him on time served — and an additional three years of supervised release.

The judge also went out of his way to praise the "excellent" work of the two removed prosecutors during proceedings this week.