Agreement on evidence-sharing would mark a significant milestone as the DOJ inquiry into efforts by Donald Trump and others to overturn the 2020 election enters a more public-facing phase. Federal investigators have sought to access the congressional committee’s 1,000-plus witness interview transcripts since April, but the select panel has resisted as its probe continued to generate extraordinary new evidence and witness testimony.
Now, though, as DOJ delves even more deeply into the former president’s inner circle and the select committee’s most significant round of public hearings has concluded, there appears to be greater urgency for prosecutors to obtain evidence the select committee has gathered.
In a wide-ranging interview, Thompson said the select committee is entering an intense period of closed-door work to handle “housekeeping” matters — such as how to handle the five GOP members of Congress the panel subpoenaed but who have refused to comply. He said the panel is still mulling decisions about whether to formally request testimony from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
He said that in August there will be a release on the National Guard.
Chair Bennie Thomspon (D-Miss.) said the Justice Department will now be able to obtain copies of depositions from the committee, abandoning an earlier demand that they conduct an “in camera” review rather than take possession of any interviews.
“We just got the process ostensibly in writing and agreed on,” Thompson said Thursday.
“It’s not a catch-all. You know if they have some people you want to look at a transcript [for] you just need to let us know,” he said.
