Attorney General Merrick Garland to Watch the Jan. 6 Hearings
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Attorney General Merrick Garland is going to watch as much of the Jan. 6 committee’s televised hearings as he is able, a Justice Department official said Thursday night.
Mr. Garland is leading the Justice Department as it conducts its own, separate investigation of the attack on the Capitol, a sprawling probe that has led to criminal charges against more than 800 people and continues to expand. Officials have described it as the largest in Justice Department history.
Mr. Garland, a former federal judge, said it was his goal to keep the Justice Department free of partisan influence after years in which former President Donald Trump repeatedly sought to use the agency to prosecute rivals and overturn the 2020 election results. But he is facing pressure from members of both parties over his handling of the riot probe.
Some Republicans have called the investigation politically driven and have argued those charged are being treated too harshly. Democrats have complained the Justice Department is moving too slowly to investigate and prosecute people involved in the planning of the rally that led to the riot, including Mr. Trump and some of his associates.
Mr. Garland said the Justice Department will prosecute those involved “at all levels.”
“The only pressure I feel, and the only pressure that our line prosecutors feel, is to do the right thing,” Mr. Garland said in April.
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