Representative Thomas Massie accused Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday of lying during a House Judiciary Committee hearing about his knowledge of federal law enforcement activities during the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Massie (R-Ky.) previously clashed with Garland in October 2021 over the same issue, questioning whether undercover FBI agents were present during the raid on the Capitol.
At the time, Massie showed video footage of then-Arizona Oath Keepers president Ray Epps urging protesters the night of the “Stop the Steal” rally “to go to the Capitol” — but was never charged.
The attorney general has responded that he “will not comment on pending investigations,” in accordance with Justice Department policy.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) accused Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday of lying during a House Judiciary Committee hearing about his knowledge of the Capitol riots Jan. 6, 2021.Getty Images
The Kentucky Republican clashed with the attorney general during a House hearing in October 2021 over the same issue.AP
On Wednesday, Garland told Massie and other members of the House Judiciary Committee that he had no knowledge of federal involvement on Jan. 6 — despite an FBI official testifying in June that “a handful” of classified human resources were there.
“That was your answer to a question to me two years ago, when I said how many government agents or assets were present on January 5th and January 6th, and agitated people to go to the Capitol and how many went to the Capitol,” Massie said. . “Can you answer that now?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Garland replied.
At the time, Massie showed video footage of then-Arizona Oath Keepers president Ray Epps urging protesters “to go to the Capitol” — but was never charged. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“You don’t know how much there is, or isn’t there?” Massie pressed.
“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions,” Garland said. “If there is, I don’t know how much it is. I don’t know if there is.”
“I thought you might have just fooled yourself — that you didn’t know that there was? Do you want to say that again?” Massie replied.
“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions,” Garland said. “If there is, I don’t know how much it is. I don’t know if there is.”AFP via Getty Images
“I have no personal knowledge of this,” Garland said. “I thought what I said last time -“
“You have two years to find out,” interrupted Massie. “By the way, that refers to Ray Epps, and yesterday you charged him. Isn’t that a beautiful coincidence? For misconduct.
“Meanwhile, you sent grandma to jail. You throw people away for 20 years just because of filming. Some people are not there.”
“I thought you might have just fooled yourself — that you didn’t know that there was? Do you want to say that again?” Massie returned fire.REUTERS
“Yet you got the guy in the video saying, ‘Go to the Capitol.’ He directed the crowd to the Capitol before the speech,” Massie continued. “He was at the site of the first breach. You have all the stuff on it. Ten videos, and this is an allegation of misconduct. The American public is not buying it.”
Washington, DC, US Attorney Matthew Graves charged Epps on Tuesday with one count of interfering with the 2020 election certification and entering a restricted area of the Capitol.
A defense attorney for Epps told The Post that he expects his client to plead guilty to the charge, for which he could serve up to a year in federal prison.
“With regard to Mr. Epps, the FBI has said that he is not an employee,” Garland told Massie. Epps also testified to a House select committee on January 6 of last year that he had never worked for the bureau.
According to a June 7 transcript released Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee and first reported by The Post, the FBI was unable to track how many “confidential human resources” were on the ground during the Capitol riots.
Former FBI assistant director in charge Steven D’Antuono told committee staff that bureau headquarters ended up having to “survey” field offices to get an accurate count of agents.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
