FBI Accused of Delaying Investigation into Trump’s Role in January 6 and Presidential Election Scheme
Former President Donald Trump’s supporters are accusing the FBI of being politically motivated in indicting Trump on 37 charges, according to a report by The Washington Post. Nonetheless, the same agency initially delayed investigating Trump’s role in January 6 and the attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election, the report states.
The right-wing critics have criticized FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland for leading a “two-tiered” justice system that unfairly targeted a Republican presidential candidate since the indictment against Trump was unsealed.
On the other hand, FBI investigators, Garland, and his deputy, Lisa Monaco, “contributed to the slow pace” of the investigation and cautious course, citing wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over the enough evidence to investigate Trump and those around him.
When Trump announced his candidacy in November 2022, Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate the former president’s role in the 2020 election scheme. But while that investigation was ongoing, the FBI discovered “top secret” and “sensitive” documents at Trump’s home.
The raid, citing national security concerns, yielded “a well-defined legal path for prosecutors compared with the unprecedented task of building a case against Trump for trying to steal the election.”
The delay in investigating Trump for his role in January 6 began before Garland was confirmed as attorney general, as Michael R. Sherwin, then-acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and other senior Justice Department officials quashed a plan by prosecutors to directly investigate Trump associates for any links to the riot.
The decision to first look into Trump supporters discussing the “fake electors” scheme in the weeks leading up to January 6 was supported by Garland, Monaco, and Wray. However, there was an effort by Garland specifically to correct the accusations of partisanship that arose during the FBI investigation into Russian election interference.
Meanwhile, Wray did what he could to avoid the appearance of overreaching by having Washington’s local field office run the January 6 investigations. He did not even come to the Washington field office for more than 21 months after the attack, according to FBI agents.
In the days after January 6, the FBI made notable arrests, such as the “QAnon Shaman” and other protestors who were photographed inside the Capital following the breach. However, Wray and other top FBI officials were noticeably absent from announcing these arrests, according to the report.
The Justice Department’s ongoing insistence to investigate Trump could be traced to Garland’s desire to set right past missteps, bruising attacks, and allegations of partisanship in the department’s recent investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. However, some insiders have complained that Garland’s determination to steer clear of any claims of political motive has chilled efforts to investigate the former president.
Original Story at wrestling-edge.com – 2023-06-19 19:01:45
