Jan. 6 committee says it be cooperating with DOJ request for interview transcripts - NBC information

The condominium committee investigating the Capitol revolt talked about Friday it be cooperating with a Justice branch request to share transcripts of their witness interviews.

The committee is "engaged in a cooperative process to handle the wants of the department of Justice. We aren't inclined to share the particulars of that publicly," the panel talked about in a statement. "We believe accountability is important and gained't be a disadvantage to the department's prosecutions."

In a letter to the committee this week, senior DOJ officers ramped up force on the panel to agree to their request from April for the transcripts, saying the documents are "critical" to its work investigating the riot.

"it is now with no trouble apparent that the interviews the choose Committee conducted are not just doubtlessly critical to our universal criminal investigations, however are probably primary to particular prosecutions that have already commenced," the officers wrote, after Committee Chair Bennie Thomson, D-omit., expressed reluctance in sharing the transcripts unless the panel's investigation is finished.

"Given this overlap, it is essential that the opt for Committee supply us with copies of the transcripts of all its witness interviews."

The letter was signed with the aid of Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.; Kenneth polite, assistant lawyer accepted of the DOJ's criminal Division; and Matthew Olsen, assistant legal professional universal for the branch's country wide security Division.

The new york times was first to report the panel's decision to cooperate, citing a couple of people conventional with the talks who talked about the DOJ may delivery receiving the transcripts subsequent month.

The committee at the start indicated it planned to show the transcripts over in September, and Thompson recommended on Thursday that prosecutors may ought to wait awhile.

"we're in the middle of conducting our hearings. we have a software to get over, we need to get the facts and instances at the back of Jan. 6," he pointed out. "we will work with them, but we have a record to do. We aren't going to cease what we're doing to share the information that we've gotten so far with the department of Justice. We must do our work."

The DOJ's letter became blanketed in a Thursday submitting by means of prosecutors consenting to a action looking for to lengthen the trial of a number of Proud Boys defendants, one in all whom became mentioned by way of name in a snippet of witness testimony within the committee's first public hearing ultimate week.

attorneys for Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola contended the transcripts are "need to-haves" earlier than they stand trial, which has been set for August. both have been charged with seditious conspiracy, which contains a optimum penalty of twenty years in the back of bars. both have pleaded no longer guilty.

The committee has interviewed greater than 1,000 witnesses as a part of their sprawling probe. "these transcripts are important for Biggs and Pezzola to have and evaluation earlier than trial — now not all over or after," their filing noted.

The government agreed with the assessment on Thursday, asserting in a filing that the anticipated September release of the transcripts "will prejudice the capacity of all events to prepare for trial."

DOJ officials have also talked about they may use the transcripts in investigations the general public and the panel does not yet learn about.

"As you are conscious, grand jury investigations don't seem to be public and hence the select Committee doesn't and should now not recognize the identification of all of the witnesses who've tips important to the branch's ongoing crook investigations," they advised the committee.

The FBI has arrested greater than 825 americans in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and more than 310 have already pleaded responsible.

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