The hammer is slow, but coming down
Easily forgotten is the time between the Watergate break-in in June 1972 and the Senate Watergate hearings beginning in May 1973: 11 months. Just for a “third-rate burglary.”
It should be no surprise that it took somewhat longer to pull together the House Jan. 6 hearings the country (well, some of it) is watching with fascination and horror. There were five perps originally arrested for the Watergate break-in. There were hundreds arrested in the wake of the Trump insurrection. Over 800 have been charged; hundreds more are being sought. There are potentially thousands of witnesses. Justice working its way up to the White House perps took time in 1972 and will take time now.
The Department of Justice is not, as the impatient believe, sitting on its heels (Washington Post):
Federal agents investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday dropped subpoenas on people in multiple locations, widening the probe of how political activists supporting President Donald Trump tried to use invalid electors to thwart Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Agents conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity Wednesday morning at different locations, FBI officials confirmed to The Washington Post. One was the home of Brad Carver, a Georgia lawyer who allegedly signed a document claiming to be a Trump elector. The other was the Virginia home of Thomas Lane, who worked on the Trump campaign’s efforts in Arizona and New Mexico. The FBI officials did not identify the people associated with those addresses, but public records list each of the locations as the home addresses of the men.
Among those who received a subpoena Wednesday was David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, who served as a Trump elector in that state, people familiar with the investigation said. Shafer’s lawyer declined to comment.
Separately, at least some of the would-be Trump electors in Michigan received subpoenas, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. But it was not immediately clear whether that activity was related to a federal probe or a state-level criminal inquiry.
Like some of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, the delay in having agents appear at their doors may have given some involved in the false elector scheme false hope that none were coming. But we know: these things take time.
For others not suspected of involvement, agents want to know what they know.
“They wanted to know if I had talked to Giuliani,” said Patrick Gartland, an untappped Trump elector on the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, when the FBI appeared with a subpoena.
A federal judge on Wednesday delayed until December the trial of five Proud Boys on charges arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol. The House panel does not plan to release transcripts of its interviews until public hearings conclude. That evidence could impact preparations for the trials for both prosecution and defense. Citing additional evidence generated by the hearings that needs review, Jan. 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) announced on Wednesday additional hearings beyond this week would be delayed until July.
The wheels of justice, as the saying goes.
Marcy Wheeler has more background on the how long things take.
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