With the expiration of the previous Congress, the Jan. 6 committee also reached its end. Many consider this to be a huge shift in the investigations into the Capitol riot, as it is now entirely in the hands of the investigators in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take any of the actions that they deem necessary.
The end of the select committee’s investigation led to the release of a report of everything they had found, along with a number of criminal recommendations. It will be up to the Justice Department to use the sources provided in their own investigations.
The end of the investigation also left a number of loose ends, and the panel also released thousands of documents publicly that can be used in any later investigation.
The Justice Department is now tasked with leading the investigations which have largely been focused on who was part of the riot, rather than who incited it.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) noted that their role was to look at all the facts and circumstances and present their findings. As part of that duty, they have “shared a number of depositions and other materials that they’ve requested” with the Department of Justice.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsel Jack Smith to handle high-level prosecutions that might result from this case. It will be up to him to determine “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election.”
The committee has also indicated that they would like to see the investigation directly look into Trump and his close associates which includes Trump’s attorney Rudy Guiliani, chief of staff Mark Meadows, and others.
