By Steve Neavling
President Biden said he supports prosecuting Trump allies and officials who defy subpoenas to testify before the House Select Committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“I hope the committee goes after them and holds them accountable,” Biden told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday.
Asked if he supports prosecution for those people, Biden responded, “I do, yes.”
Committee leaders said they were taking steps to hold Steve Bannon, a Trump ally and former administration officials, in contempt, for refusing to comply with a subpoena.
Ultimately, the decision belongs to the Justice Department, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said when asked about it Thursday.
“That would be up to the Department of Justice, and it would be their purview to determine. They’re an independent agency,” she told reporters at a White House press briefing on October 8. “They’re independent. They would determine any decision on criminal prosecutions. I’d point you to them and, of course, the committee.”
The Justice Department hasn’t said yet what it plans to do.
“The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law. Period. Full stop,” DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley said Friday.
