Attorney General vows to pursue Jan. 6 investigation wherever evidence goes

Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed to vigorously pursue the investigation into the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, a potential warning to former President Trump that he could eventually wind up in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors.

Even as he ticked off facts and figures about the probe, the nation’s top law enforcement official sought to reassure Americans that prosecutors are nowhere near done.

“The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last,” Garland said on Wednesday. “The justice department remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law — whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”

The bespectacled Garland explained that federal prosecutors are required to act in a painstakingly cautious manner.

In the Jan. 6 probe, that means charging most clear-cut crimes first and working their way up the food chain to those who may have planned, funded or incited the attack that aimed to block Congress from certifying President Biden’s election.

“We follow the physical evidence, we follow the digital evidence, we follow the money. But most importantly, we follow the fact,” Garland said. “Not an agenda, not an assumption, the facts tell us where to go.”

Garland, who did not mention Trump or anybody else by name, has recently faced criticism from some Democrats about what they call the slow pace of the probe and the apparent lack of will to target Trump himself or other leaders of the attack.

Leaders of the Congressional panel investigating the attack have said they may refer Trump or others to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution. But Garland would have the final word about any decision to seek charges.

He acknowledged questions from an impatient public for more information.

“Our answer is ... as long as it takes and whatever it takes,” Garland said.

The former senior appeals court judge, who was famously denied a seat on the Supreme Court by Republicans, also surprised some by linking the need to prosecute violent domestic extremists with the push for new voting rights protections.

Noting that the goal of the Jan. 6 attack was to block the counting of the electoral college votes, Garland said the nation needs new protections to ensure that all Americans, especially minority groups, have access to the ballot box and that their votes will be fairly counted.