The White House press secretary and the Department of Justice are trying to do damage control. This comes after Biden announced to the media on Friday that anyone who goes against the congressional subpoena should face prosecution.
Biden would “go after” people who refuse to comply with subpoena
On Friday evening, the president made some remarks, as the January 6 commission is speeding up in issuing subpoenas to officials of the former Trump administration.
Subpoenas are also being issued to others who might’ve had information about efforts made by the former president in relation to his claims of 2020 election voter fraud.
At the South Lawn outside of Air Force One, Biden announced to the media he is hoping the January 6 committee will “go after them” and hold these people accountable. Biden was referring to people who refuse to comply with the subpoenas issued by the congressional committee.
The rules of engagement have changed in the weaponized Biden Justice Dept.
Trump was condemned for his comments on pending investigations.
Biden says DOJ should prosecute named targets.
Psaki agreed.
Don’t worry—news orgs flush all admin. blunders. https://t.co/12kXrE4oHi— Tosca Austen (@ToscaAusten) October 16, 2021
After the remarks from Biden, one reporter asked the president whether the people who refuse to comply would be prosecuted. To this, Biden answered in the affirmative.
Biden officials try to do damage control after damaging statements made by the president
As a form of “damage control” Anthony Coley (the spokesman of the Department of Justice) responded to the remarks made by the president. Coley stated the Department of Justice will conduct “independent decisions” in relation to prosecutions, which will be based mainly on facts and law.
On top of this, the White House press secretary likewise tried to make clarifications via Twitter about the statement the president made. According to Psaki, Biden backs the “independent role” of the Department of Justice, particularly in making prosecutorial decisions.
As @potus has said many times, January 6th was one of the darkest days in our democracy. He supports the work of the committee and the independent role of the Department of Justice to make any decisions about prosecutions.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) October 16, 2021
Earlier this week, Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official under the Trump administration, was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee for documents and testimony.
Democrat Representative Bennie Thompson is one of the chairs of the committee. Thompson stated they have to understand the role Clark played in these actions and also know all the people who were involved.
The news comes after conflicting reports were released by the Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is particularly in relation to the controversy that surrounds some specific accusations.
These accusations allege that former President Trump pressed the Department of Justice to investigate the fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election.
In addition to this, Jeff Rosen, the former Deputy Attorney General, reportedly went into a sit-down interview on Wednesday with the January 6 commission.
On the other hand, David Axelrod, adviser of former President Obama, also shared a tweet. This tweet stated it is probably best for Biden to leave this matter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Biden should do this instead of making side comments and damning statements.
