The Justice Department has requested transcripts of interviews conducted by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, although the panel's chairman initially rejected the request, USA Today reports. Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said the request arrived this week but lawmakers haven't agreed to provide transcripts because they are in the midst of their own probe. "I mean, the reality is, we are conducting our own investigation," Thompson said. "And obviously if they want to come and talk they're perfectly welcome to come and talk and we have talked to them on other situations, but we can't give them full access to our product. That would be premature at this point."
The request includes the committee's discussions with associates of former President Trump, signaling that the federal inquiry into the insurrection has accelerated, moving beyond the broad dragnet for the mob that stormed the Capitol in an attempt to block the certification of the 2020 election. Thompson said the Justice Department didn't name the witnesses whose transcripts it seeks. Disclosure of the DOJ transcript request comes as the committee prepares for its first public hearing next month, after interviews with more than 1,000 witnesses. The Justice inquiry is separate from the committee's investigation. The panel took the extraordinary step last week of subpoenaing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with four other Republican lawmakers and close allies of the former president.