WASHINGTON, D.C. – OCTOBER 21: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies at a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on October 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
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UPDATED 3:23 PM PT – Thursday, October 21, 2021
GOP lawmakers grill Attorney General Merrick Garland on alleged mistreatment of detained Jan. 6 protesters.
On Thursday, Garland told the House Judiciary Committee the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is reviewing detention conditions in the D.C. jail at the center of allegations. Garland’s comment comes after Judge Royce Lamberth expressed concern of possible violations while one of the jail’s wardens has been held in contempt over the matter.
Attorneys for Jan. 6 detainees said their clients are being subjected to solitary confinement and psychological pressure. Republicans have argued this is unacceptable.
AG Merrick Garland tells House panel the Jan. 6 investigation is one of the most “sweeping” in Justice Department history.
“Keeping our country safe requires protecting its democratic institutions, including the one we sit in today, from violent attack.” https://t.co/ieJxvGxDyY pic.twitter.com/x0pb09noCv
— ABC News (@ABC) October 21, 2021
“You have even judges who recently even held the Department of Corrections in contempt the way that Jan. 6 suspects have been treated, and you’re refusing to comment on the very acts that have just occurred. That’s what is horribly wrong and is happening in our country that people are seeing your refusal to answer those questions,” said Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.).
Republicans also criticized Democrat attempts to hold former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in contempt with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying a Jan. 6 subpoena against Bannon is invalid.