Andrew Weissmann, a former top prosecutor to Robert Mueller, explained that it's thanks to former Attorney General Bill Barr that members of the Oath Keepers could be charged with sedition after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Tuesday, Alex Wagner noted that it isn't just a terrorism investigation but a domestic terrorism case that could present civil liberties issues.
"I would also add, from an investigative standpoint, how tricky is it to navigate an investigation into domestic actors versus international actors, giving the political schism which is happening in this country, which overlays a lot of this," said Wagner.
Weissmann agreed, saying that the political and the law should be in two different categories.
"I think that's where Merrick Garland will be key in keeping politics out of that equation," Weissmann explained. "The second issue that you raise, though, is one that has to do with civil liberties. Just to be clear, those are concerns whether you're doing foreign terrorism or domestic terrorism, they're still issues that we dealt with, for instance, at the FBI, to make sure that we were adhering to the Fourth Amendment as it applies to overseas.. But remember, what the DOJ will be looking at is conduct, not speech. It will be important to have leaders who are serious and responsible like Garland and Lisa Monaco to make sure people stay on the straight and narrow, but it is very important to prosecute domestic terrorism matters, regardless of whether it's happening on the right or the left."
But it was his final point that he called "somewhat ironic."
"The sedition memo that came out in September of 2020 was penned by the Barr Department of Justice in connection with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the summer, but now you're seeing discussion of the sedition statute with a very different group trying to do very different things."
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