Durbin Questions Deputy AG Nominee on Jan. 6th Investigation and FBI Agent Safety

January 6th Assaults and Investigations

• ⚠️ The nominee acknowledges seeing videos of the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol, including instances of the crowd assaulting police officers and attempting to break through doors.
• 🎯 It is stated that any assault on law enforcement should never be tolerated and should be investigated.
• 🔍 The FBI is recognized as a crucial law enforcement agency, and it's understandable that they would conduct the federal prosecution of those who assaulted the Capitol.

FBI Agent Involvement and Information Disclosure

• 📊 Approximately 5,000 FBI agents were involved in the investigation of the January 6th crimes, described as the largest criminal investigation in the Department of Justice's history.
• ❓ A key point of contention is the request for the names of all FBI agents engaged in the investigation to be disclosed.
• 📄 The nominee is not aware of an effort by the Department of Justice to publicly disclose these names, stating that the request was to provide information to the DOJ to understand what went wrong.

Concerns Over Agent Safety and 'Purge'

• 🚨 The nominee is questioned about the justification for disclosing the identities of individuals involved in the investigation, especially in light of a blanket pardon issued by President Trump.
• 😟 There is a stated fear among FBI agents that disclosing their names could jeopardize their safety and that of their families, particularly if individuals convicted on January 6th are released.
• 🚫 The nominee states that the safety of FBI agents is extraordinarily important and cannot commit to anything that would put their lives or families in danger.
• ❓ The nominee disputes the characterization of information collection as a 'purge,' stating it's about collecting information to prevent future occurrences, not firing agents.

Precedent and Oversight

• ⚖️ The nominee believes that the Department of Justice has historically had oversight responsibility over the FBI, including access to agent names at times, though not to the unprecedented scale of the January 6th investigation.
• 📉 Concerns are raised that the scale of this request and its potential impact on FBI morale and operations will not benefit the safety of Americans.