What’s more,Garland said,more than 5000 subpoenas had been issued,about 2000 devices seized and about 20,000 hours of video footage searched through.
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“We understand that there are questions about how long the investigation will take,and about what exactly we are doing,” he said.
“Our answer is and will continue to be ... as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done consistent with a fact of the law.”
On January 6,2021,Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building after being told by him to “fight like hell” to stop Biden’s election from being certified by Congress.
Five people died during the event,including a QAnon supporter who was shot dead by an officer as she attempted to make her way through a smashed window,and about 150 police officers were injured.
On the anniversary of the riot,also the anniversary of Biden’s certification (Friday AEDT),the US President and Democrats will commemorate with a series of events,including prayer vigils and speeches.
To coincide with the date,former president Jimmy Carter,in a strongly worded opinion piece forThe New York Times,decried renewed efforts to thwart American democracy.
“Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss,” Carter wrote. “Without immediate action,we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late.”
Carter wrote that each of the four living former presidents as of last January,including Bill Clinton,George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama,condemned the actions of “a violent mob,guided by unscrupulous politicians” who “stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power.”
“There followed a brief hope that the insurrection would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarisation that threatens our democracy,” Carter wrote. “However,one year on,promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems.”
Trump has consistently rejected suggestions he was responsible for the attack and has continued to push his false claim of a “stolen election” - a claim that polls suggest millions of Americans believe.
However,a select House committee separately probing the event is examining not only Trump’s role but that of his allies,including former chief of staff Mark Meadows,Congressman Jim Jordan,and former Texas governor Rick Perry.
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham,who resigned on the day of the riots,was due to meet with the Democrat-dominated committee on Thursday (AEDT),and members were also hoping Trump’s former vice-president Mike Pence would volunteer to be questioned.
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The probe had a major development on Wednesday,when the committee released a series of texts suggesting that high-profile Fox host Sean Hannity “had advance knowledge regarding president Trump’s and his legal team’s planning for January 6th”.
Among them was a January 5 text from Hannity saying “I’m very worried about the next 48 hours” as well as a December 31 text to Meadows saying:“I do NOT see January 6 happening the way[Trump] is being told.”
In his speech,Garland described the Capitol siege as an “unprecedented attack on our democracy”.
“We will defend our democratic institutions from attack. We will protect those who serve the public from violence and threats of violence,” he said. “We will protect the cornerstone of our democracy:the right of every eligible citizen to cast a vote that counts.”
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