Rep. Roy, Rep. Massie demand answers from AG Garland on January 6 investigation

Press Release

WASHINGTON--On Thursday, after sending two letters this year and receiving a boilerplate response, Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) and Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04) sent a third letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding a congressional briefing be held to get answers on the rationale behind his decision to arrest certain individuals while declining to arrest others, and to provide regular updates on the situation surrounding January 6 defendants in confinement.

"Earlier this month U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth found the warden of the D.C. jail and the director of the D.C. Department of Corrections in contempt for treatment of January 6 defendants in confinement. Judge Lamberth ordered the DOJ to investigate whether the jail is violating the civil rights of the dozens of Americans that are incarcerated there while they wait for their day in court," the letter explains. "This comes after months of accusations of mistreatment in the DC jail, including two letters from us raising alarms on this precise topic. Please provide Congress regular updates on this situation, including updates on any investigation, including any civil rights investigation, conducted by your department."

This is the third such letter that Reps. Roy and Massie have sent to AG Garland since May regarding reported mistreatment of January 6th defendants and he has yet to provide any real answers on these matter. The accused are innocent until proven guilty, and justice must always be conducted without favor or prejudice. The American people deserve answers on what is happening in this case.

"We renew our request for a congressional briefing no later than November 15, 2021 on these matters and to answer the specific questions we have previously raised," they conclude. "In addition, this briefing should include information as to the rationale behind your decision to arrest certain individuals while declining to arrest others, whether any federal employees were part of these events, and whether they were arrested or not."

Full text of the letter is available at the link here and below:

Merrick B. Garland

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Garland:

This is the third letter we have sent to you on this matter. We wrote to you on May 13, 2021 and July 15, 2021 and only received a boilerplate response on October 29, 2021 after raising your non-responsiveness at a hearing. Your October 29 letter fails to provide specific answers to our specific questions, so we renew our request for information.

Moreover, it appears through publicly available video captured on January 6, that there are individuals who were present and involved in the events of that day that were not arrested or charged with a crime to date. Some of these individuals are clearly visible and have been specifically identified in media accounts.

Earlier this month U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth found the warden of the D.C. jail and the director of the D.C. Department of Corrections in contempt for treatment of January 6 defendants in confinement. Judge Lamberth ordered the DOJ to investigate whether the jail is violating the civil rights of the dozens of Americans that are incarcerated there while they wait for their day in court. This comes after months of accusations of mistreatment in the DC jail, including two letters from us raising alarms on this precise topic. Please provide Congress regular updates on this situation, including updates on any investigation, including any civil rights investigation, conducted by your department.

We renew our request for a congressional briefing no later than November 15, 2021 on these matters and to answer the specific questions we have previously raised. In addition, this briefing should include information as to the rationale behind your decision to arrest certain individuals while declining to arrest others, whether any federal employees were part of these events, and whether they were arrested or not.

Sincerely,

Chip Roy

Member of Congress

Thomas Massie

Member of Congress

Source