Tensions escalate as DOJ renews request for Jan. 6 panel transcripts

The Justice Department on Thursday revealed a deepening rift with the Jan. 6 House select committee, accusing the panel of a “failure” to share its 1,000 witness transcripts.

DOJ officials say those documents would aid the prosecution of people who breached the Capitol, including leaders of the Proud Boys.

“The Select Committee’s failure to grant the Department access to these transcripts complicates the Department’s ability to investigate and prosecute those who engaged in criminal conduct in relation to the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” DOJ wrote in a letter Wednesday, signed by Assistant Attorneys General Kenneth Polite, Jr. and Matthew Olsen, as well as U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.

The DOJ officials said it was “critical” that the panel provide prosecutors “copies of the transcripts of all its witness interviews.”

The letter was the latest reflection of escalating tensions between House investigators and Justice Department prosecutors in recent weeks. It marked the first time prosecutors directly and publicly accused the select committee of undermining efforts to impose criminal penalties on those responsible for the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Prosecutors agreed Thursday to delay a scheduled August trial of the leadership of the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump militia group, citing the “prejudice” caused by the select committee’s public hearings, which are ongoing for much of this month. The leaders are facing seditious conspiracy charges for their activities on Jan. 6. The proposed trial delay to December — backed by some defendants — would require the approval of the federal judge handling the case.

In addition to the transcript dispute, prosecutors are facing increasing complaints from defense attorneys that the Jan. 6 panel releasing selected details of their investigation — including in currently ongoing public hearings — is unfair to their clients. They are demanding access to all the records and have expressed concerns that they might all be abruptly made public right in the middle of a Proud Boys trial.

Indeed, the letter emerged publicly Thursday after prosecutors

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, has previously indicated concerns about the Justice Department’s blanket request for the committee’s transcripts.

“My understanding is they want to have access to our work product. And we told them, no, we’re not giving that to anybody,” he said last month.

The panel has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses. Members have emphasized their investigation is ongoing and will continue until the panel releases a final report later this year.

Members of the committee have also publicly criticized DOJ for what they’ve perceived as its slow action to pursue potential cases against Donald Trump and members of his inner circle. Those tensions grew recently when DOJ declined to prosecute former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and close aide Dan Scavino for defying Jan. 6 select committee subpoenas.