Some members House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol ranted that the Justice Department needed to step in after the exorbitant amount of information uncovered by them. There have been similar calls from partisans and activists, but there could be an indication that something is afoot.
Ex-conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin noted a recent request by the DOJ for an increase in the 2023 fiscal year budget so that they can hire 80 new attorneys.
“The Jan. 6 investigation is among the most wide-ranging and most complex that this department has ever undertaken," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “It reaches nearly every U.S. attorney’s office, nearly every FBI field office."
But so far, the Justice Department has indicted more than 800 people, and more than 150 have already pleaded guilty.
Former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal told Rubin that Judge David Carter's ruling on Monday revealed that after viewing all of the emails sent and received by John Eastman, he thinks the lawyer and former president could be prosecuted.
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“[The] decision reinforces the need for DOJ to conduct a serious investigation of Donald Trump, and not just those under him," said Katyal.
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner noted that because so many members of Congress are compromised in the investigation, the DOJ may be choosing not to coordinate with the investigatory committee. There's also a question about the DOJ's probes being made public. Were Trump and his allies to learn of any DOJ investigation, whether it exists or not, they're likely to shut down any cooperation with the Jan. 6 committee.
"The funding request and Monaco’s vow to pursue culprits 'no matter at what level' suggest that Justice Department investigators will continue to follow the chain upward from the insurrection participants and planners to those in the previous administration who set out to overturn the election, including Trump," wrote Rubin. "Still, the absence of any indication that Justice Department lawyers are questioning higher-level personnel leaves many wondering: What is the department up to, and what will it do with all the resources it is seeking?"
Many of the Jan. 6 attackers who have been indicted are taking plea agreements, but for those that aren't, it means prosecutors are going to be busy when trying the cases. At the same time, information recently about Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, revealed she was in communication with the White House pushing 2020 election conspiracies. If Thomas were to be subpoenaed, there could be another legal fight the DOJ will be forced to have simply to get a deposition.
Rubin explained that the addition of 80 new prosecutors, however, could speed up the process on a lot of charges.
