DOJ endorses delay in Proud Boys trial, citing Jan. 6 committee’s ongoing work

It’s a big concession for DOJ, which had initially supposed to strive the seditious conspiracy case in early August. DOJ revealed its frustration with the choose committee in a court docket submitting final week that equally endorsed a delay in the Proud Boys trial. In Tuesday’s submitting, DOJ proposed starting jury choice Dec. 12, 2021, with opening statements to start the week of Jan. 2, 2023.

That proposed schedule, which will likely be thought-about Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, will increase the probability that one of many two most vital instances to emerge from the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol received’t be resolved till effectively after the two-year anniversary of the assault.

In its submitting, DOJ famous that former Proud Boys nationwide chairman Enrique Tarrio was featured prominently in the course of the choose committee’s first public listening to June 9, together with a clip of a video deposition he carried out with the panel earlier this 12 months. The committee additionally centered considerably on the actions and moments of Proud Boys Joe Biggs and Dominic Pezzola, the primary rioter to breach the Capitol that day.

But DOJ is much more involved that the choose committee may launch new batches of data simply because the trial will get underway.

(*6*) McCullough famous. “Were the trial in this case not continued, the parties in this case could find themselves in the unprecedented position of litigating a criminal trial simultaneous to the release of a Congressional report that is likely to include robust descriptions of the criminal conduct of the defendants.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who’s slated to steer the listening to on the Proud Boys connections to Trump’s orbit, stated he doesn’t consider his deal with that side of the investigation would make it harder for DOJ to prosecute the Proud Boys management.

“A lot of them have already been prosecuted or pled guilty,” he famous, referring to a slew of Proud Boys members charged for his or her roles in the Capitol assault however not linked to the seditious conspiracy case. “Also, you know, juries that are sequestered and shielded. So I think that our justice system has lots of precautions.”

Asked whether or not the choose committee ought to expedite the supply of transcripts particularly associated to the Proud Boys instances, Raskin famous the excellence between DOJ’s mission and the choose committee’s.

“We have every interest in seeing that individual criminal accountability is vindicated,” he stated of DOJ’s prosecutions, “Just like we have every interest in seeing that general political accountability is restored, which is our basic function. We do not want to interfere in any way with the Department of Justice and we’re trusting that they’re going to be able to totally execute the law enforcement function.”

“Attorney General [Merrick] Garland is my constituent and I have no complaints about my constituents, Raskin added with a smile. “You know, I trust him to be a strong and effective prosecutor.”