Justice Department requests House committee provide transcripts of its January 6 interviews, which would include Trump associates, report says
- The DOJ requested the Jan. 6 committee hand over interview transcripts from their investigations.
- The investigation includes more than 1,000 interviews, which could be used in criminal cases.
The Department of Justice asked the Jan. 6 House investigation committee to hand over its interview transcripts, which would include those of former President Donald Trump's associates, according to a report from The New York Times.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, committee chair, confirmed that the request was made to reporters at the Capitol Tuesday, but nothing has been agreed upon yet. Thompson said they would turn over their work once they finish their own investigation.
Thompson also told reporters that federal agencies, as well as state and local officials, have requested to view documents before. However, the commitee has not allowed them to take or share documents.
"If they want to come and talk, just like we've had other agencies to come and talk, we'd be happy to talk to them, but we can't give them access to our work product at this point," Thompson told pool reporters.
The committee has so far compiled more than 1,000 interviews. Witnessess range from high-ranking Trump officials and former White House lawyers to members of Trump's family. These interviews may be used to put forward criminal charges or to be used as evidence for other cases, The Times reported.
The requests came from Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves, who told the Jan. 6 committee in a letter that the interviews "may contain information relevant to a criminal investigation we are conducting."
The Justice Department has been working on its own investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, but the case has mostly centered on rioters and lower-level planners, rather than higher ranking politicians.
Representatives at the DOJ did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.