WASHINGTON -The Biden administration claims it urgently needs more funds to bring the Jan. 6 rioters to justice. But it’s unclear whether Congress will award that request in a significant funding bill scheduled for December. And if it does not do so by the new year, a Republican-led House could jeopardize the resources they require.
With only a few weeks left in this Congress, the fate of the sprawling federal criminal probe into the thousands of rioters who besieged the building in support of then-President Donald Trump is in the hands of congressional legislators, who craft financing bills to keep the government running.
When questioned about the Dept of Justice’s request for additional funding in the year-end bill, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said, “There really are lots of requests.” “We’re going through all of them and determining what makes it and what doesn’t.”
The Justice Department has described the Jan. 6 arrests as “the most extensive investigation” in its history. For the past 21 months, the inquiry, led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, has been largely supported by volunteers from 93 prosecutors’ offices across the country.
Hundreds of extra Jan. 6 rioters are yet to be arrested, according to online sleuths; one of the investigators who is closely tracking the Justice Department’s caseload noted that the number of exceptional cases is decreasing, with sentences now surpassing new arrests, which have slowed to approximately four per week following the beginning of 2022. This is far below the total number of arrests made in 2021, which has kept the federal court docket in Washington, D.C., busy as cases move through the system.
While a fresh crop of interim U.S. attorneys may help accelerate the rate of arrests in the coming months, the long-term trajectory of the criminal investigation is dependent in part on the 2023 fiscal budget which Congress intends to pass in December about the time the Jan. 6 committee is anticipate to issue its final report.
According to the Justice Department, over $34 million in funds is “critically needed” to fund the criminal probe.The Justice Department wrote to the legislative body, “The incidents are unprecedented in scope and are expected to be some of the most intricate investigations put on trial by the Department of Justice.”
Failure to obtain additional funds, according to the department, will have a “negative impact” on US Attorney’s Offices across the country, which will “need to suffer a budget decrease to fund these prosecutions.”
According to the Justice Department, this could prevent offices from filling positions and convicting other major cases in their home jurisdictions.
Congress has until December 16 to reach a funding agreement, and negotiators will return after the Nov. 8 vote to try to reach a full-year agreement.
Before adjourning for the summer, legislators involved in the negotiations told NBC News that the outcome of the Justice Department request was still unknown. While the dept has communicated its requirements to the Hill, senior lawmakers have stated that they were unaware that the fate of the Jan. 6 probe could be determined by the next budget round.
“At this juncture, a plethora of issues are up in the air.” We’re holding talks at the highest levels, and I’m not sure where that clause is,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, the House’s No. 2 Democrat on the Committee of Appropriations.
When asked if Justice needed more funds for the inquiry, Kaptur responded: “They have to notify us.
As an appropriator, they must notify us if there are insufficient resources.
But I believe those who have dishonored our country, waged violence, and defiled these buildings must be held accountable.”
“I have not seen that plea at all,” said another appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said the Justice proposal is reviewed by a different select committee than the one she chairs. “I was uninformed of it until you mentioned it.”
The Department of Justice’s full request was included in a funding bill approved by the Democratic-led House Appropriations Committee over the summer. However, making the transition that into a bipartisan bill that can be approved by both chambers is a higher order.
Some Republicans are willing to consider it. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a senior Republican appropriator who opposed to certifying election results following the Jan. 6 attack, said he’s open to authorizing additional funding for the investigation.
“Those individuals should be put on trial to the fullest extent of the law.” “I have no objection to providing the Justice Department with the resources it requires to do so,” he said. “I don’t mind spending extra money to ensure that whoever broke into this facility is brought to justice.”
Appropriations bills are subject to filibuster in the Senate, which means that any funding bill introduced this year will need at least 10 Gop votes to get through the chamber.
If Republicans take the House majority as well as elevate Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, a devout Trump ally, to speaker, the chances of authorizing new Jan. 6 funding decrease.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a vocal Trump ally who has echoed his false election claims as well as criticized the Jan. 6 committee, the DOJ, and the FBI’s emphasis on domestic terrorism, is the probable chair of the Judiciary Committee supervising the Justice Department.
Many Republicans have criticized the Justice Department investigation, questioning why a politically driven attack on the legislative branch of the United States government is receiving more federal attention than local riots targeting nonfederal targets in the summer of 2020.
Top appropriators, however, are eager to reach a full-year funding agreement in the lame-duck session, which includes Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., as well as Vice Chair Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who are both retiring and desire to leave on a high note.
When questioned if a new funding agreements could be postponed until 2023, DeLauro said, “No way.” Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco both stated on January 6 that proceedings will continue even if it means a budget cut for US Attorneys’ offices.
“Of course, we’d like more funds, so if Congress wishes to provide us that, that would be extremely nice,” Garland said in July to NBC News.
“However, we have individuals, prosecutors as well as agents from all over the nation working on this case, and I have complete faith in their ability, professional competence, and dedication to the task.”
However, this may be at the cost of other important law enforcement functions. According to Monaco, the Jan. 6 inquiry “draws on resources from across the United States Attorney’s Offices. Those same funds that are required to combat violent crime, those same funds that are needed to probe corporate crime all over the country, those same resources that will help us implement our civil rights.”
