By Steve Neavling
A high-ranking Justice Department official who once helped lead the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is now spearheading an effort to identify and scrutinize the very prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on those cases, NBC News reports.
Emil Bove, a Trump-appointed acting deputy attorney general, previously served as a counterterrorism prosecutor in Manhattan. After the Capitol riot, Bove oversaw the investigation of Jan. 6 suspects in New York, coordinating closely with the FBI to track down and arrest them.
Now, Bove is helping carry out former President Donald Trump’s pledge to expose what Trump called “a grave national injustice” by investigating law enforcement officials involved in Jan. 6 cases. Bove recently demanded a list of every FBI agent who worked on the investigation, raising fears among agents that they will be targeted for retribution.
His former colleagues are stunned by his new role.
“He treated these cases as a priority,” said Christopher O’Leary, a senior FBI counterterrorism agent who worked closely with Bove on Jan. 6 cases. “In my daily interactions with him, there was never any indication of anything other than full-throated support.”
Records show that Bove participated in weekly meetings with FBI agents and prosecutors in New York to strategize arrests and warrants for Jan. 6 suspects. He even pushed for his office to take a lead role in the national investigation, though that responsibility ultimately went to federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.
One of the cases Bove worked on involved the arrest of Samuel Fisher, a Capitol rioter caught in Manhattan with several weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Fisher was sentenced to 3½ years in prison, though his Jan. 6 charges were later wiped out by a Trump pardon.
Since Trump returned to office last month, Bove has shifted his focus. In a memo to FBI leadership, Bove called for the names of every agent involved in Jan. 6 investigations, accusing them of participating in what Trump described as “a grave national injustice.”
Initially, the acting FBI director resisted, providing only employee ID numbers. Bove called it “insubordination” and demanded the names, which were eventually handed over.
Bove’s critics see the move as retaliation. FBI agents on the list worry they could be fired or demoted.
Bove declined to comment for this story. Later, a Justice Department official said Bove had noticed “overzealousness” in some Jan. 6 cases and that the criticism of him is politically motivated.
“What the record reflects is that the investigations Bove supervised were done properly,” the official said. “Bove has shown since January 20th that he approaches investigations with integrity.”
