Justice Department hits out at January 6 committee for not sharing witness transcripts

The letter is the latest sign of a rift between the Justice Department and the January 6 committee

The Justice Department has accused the January 6 committee of withholding witness transcripts that would aid the prosecution of people who attacked the US Capitol.

In a letter sent to the committee on Wednesday, the DOJ said the “failure” to grant it access to the transcripts “complicates the department’s ability to investigate and prosecute those who engaged in criminal conduct” in relation to the Capitol attack.

“It is critical that the Select Committee provide us with copies of the transcripts of all of its witness interviews,” continued the letter, which was signed by Assistant Attorneys General Kenneth Polite, Jr and Matthew Olsen, as well as US Attorney Matthew Graves.

The letter is the latest point of tension for the House committee investigating the Capitol attack. Some members of the committee have been critical of what they perceive to be a reluctance by the Justice Department to pursue criminal prosecutions of Donald Trump and his allies for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The Justice Department, in turn, has indicated its frustration with the committee for releasing information that may harm its ability to successfully prosecute those involved in the Capitol attack.

The letter was filed as part of a prosecutor’s notice to a judge in which the DOJ agreed to delay a trial of several Proud Boys defendants in order to wait for the release of transcripts of interviews with the January 6 committee’s witnesses.

Lawyers for the defendants, who are facing seditious conspiracy charges for their alleged role in the Capitol attack, have argued that the publicity surrounding the trial may negatively impact their clients’ chances for a fair trial.

The committee has heard from a number of witnesses and played videos that detail the role of Proud Boys members in the attack.

Following Thursday’s hearing, committee chairman Bennie Thompson said the committee would respond to the DOJ’s request in due time.

“We got the letter yesterday. We’re reviewing it. We will respond to it. But we’re in the midst of conducting our hearing. We have to get the facts and circumstances behind January 6,” he told reporters.

“We are not going to stop what we’re doing to share information that we’ve gotten so far with the Department of Justice. We have to do our work.”

On Thursday, the committee heard from witnesses who testified that Mike Pence told then-president Donald Trump that his plans to overturn the 2020 election were illegal.

The latest revelation came in the form of testimony from Marc Short, the vice president’s ex-chief of staff who has remained one of his closest aides since Mr Pence left the White House in 2021.

According to Mr Short, the vice president warned Mr Trump “many times” that the plan was unconstitutional, yet Mr Trump pressed forward in his efforts to pressure his VP into interfering in the electoral count anyway.