January 6 committee's aggressive approach on Trump may put Merrick Garland in a tight spot
CNN
The House January 6 committee's aggressive approach to seeking accountability from ex-President Donald Trump, on full display this week, may be setting up a choice for Attorney General Merrick Garland that would trigger a legal and political storm.
In a torrent of legal filings, subpoenas, contempt referrals and hundreds of interviews, the panel has constructed a probe that is sweeping in scope and seems certain to bust open the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that led to the worst attack on US democracy in generations.
In a new gambit this week, the committee argued to a judge in a case related to the probe that Trump and a conservative lawyer were part of a "criminal conspiracy" to try to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The court filing sparked political intrigue over whether the former President could ultimately end up facing a jury over the insurrection. Then, in a fresh sign of its industriousness, the committee targeted Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancée of Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., with a subpoena on Thursday. Public hearings designed to expose Trump's plotting against the Constitution are expected to begin next month. And given what is known about the evidence the committee has already collected, a scathing final report lambasting Trump's attempt to stay in power in defiance of the people's will seems assured.
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