Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wasn’t overly concerned during an interview this weekend on CNN about the prospects of House Republicans, who have newly taken the majority, conducting an investigation into the origins of January 6 probes that have drawn in Trump, including the work of the House committee that investigated the Capitol riot, where Raskin was a member.
“If they want to rerun the January 6 investigation, then more power to them, because all roads lead to the exact same place: Donald Trump refused to accept no for an answer from the American people and tried to overthrow the 2020 election,” Raskin told Jake Tapper. “If they think that Antifa was really behind it and Donald Trump, then they can have at it and we would love to be part of such an investigation.” Check out Raskin’s observations below:
Raskin on House Republicans: "If they want to rerun the January 6 investigation, then more power to them, because all roads lead to the exact same place: Donald Trump refused to accept no for an answer from the American people and tried to overthrow the 2020 election." pic.twitter.com/1DxGOlP1nm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 15, 2023
Republicans recently approved a new subcommittee in the House — procedurally placed under the Judiciary Committee — that reports have indicated will receive the kind of support and resources that were available to the riot investigation panel. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who obviously isn’t exactly known for his restrained approach, will lead the subcommittee, in addition to serving as chairman on the overarching judiciary panel.
Technically, the contours of the subpanel appear designed to include the circumstances of just about any federal probe, focusing on any government agency that gathers details on individual Americans. The panel’s work will run on the underlying idea there has been a political conspiracy — or at least political ambition and impacts — involved in the progression of key investigations conducted by federal officials, though as Raskin noted, outrage over the course of a probe simply won’t change the underlying facts.
Despite the expansive mandate on paper, the committee obviously seems likely to focus its attention on the origin and handling of federal investigations that have affected Trump — in a fashion similar to the investigation by Special Counsel John Durham, who was investigating the origins of the Russia probe and saw acquittals at trial for both of the cases he originated that eventually reached that stage. (There was also a third case in which the defendant pleaded guilty after altering a record when still on staff at the FBI.)
Raskin was also asked on CNN about classified documents found at a series of locations associated with President Joe Biden in evident connection to his eight years as vice president. While acknowledging the seriousness of any potential breach of the government’s information security, the Congressman said observers should remember the difference between potentially inadvertently hanging onto government materials but swiftly complying with efforts to return those documents and inciting an attack on the Capitol intended to block the transfer of power, as Trump did.
