Our Little White Supremacist Domestic Terrorism Problem, Con't

In an interview with NPR's Carrie Johnson, US Attorney General Merrick Garland says that the federal investigation into the January 6th seditious insurrection will not end "until we hold everyone accountable who committed criminal acts with respect to January 6."

On his first anniversary as attorney general, Merrick Garland said he's committed to unraveling the conspiracy behind the storming of the U.S. Capitol, in what he calls "the most urgent investigation in the history of the Justice Department."

Members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot have asserted former President Trump could be charged with conspiracy and obstruction for his actions. But Democrats in Congress and even some of Garland's friends have worried he'll shy away from the political firestorm that would result from charging a former commander-in-chief with a crime.

"We are not avoiding cases that are political or cases that are controversial or sensitive," the attorney general said in an exclusive interview with NPR. "What we are avoiding is making decisions on a political basis, on a partisan basis."

This week, prosecutors won their first convictions in federal court in a Jan. 6 case against former Texas oil worker Guy Reffitt. That followed a guilty plea to seditious conspiracy by an Alabama man affiliated with the far-right Oath Keepers militia.

"We begin with the cases that are right in front of us with the overt actions and then we build from there," Garland said. "And that is a process that we will continue to build until we hold everyone accountable who committed criminal acts with respect to January 6."

Garland discussed his wide remit, where the priorities range from price-fixing in the chicken industry to Russian oligarchs financing the war in Ukraine with ill-gotten gains. 

The sharp-eyed will note that the next question that must be asked is "Does the overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump conducted a conspiracy to defraud the US government and the American people rise to to the level of criminal acts?"

We'll find out the answer in the months ahead. Even if Republicans are able to kill the House January 6th Committee, and House GOP minority leader Kevin McCarthy has signaled several times that it will be among his first acts in January 2023 as Speaker if elected, the Justice Department will soldier on.