US DOJ allows testimonies of former employees on Capitol riots

 The US Justice
Department will not assert executive privilege for potential testimony of at
least some witnesses to the January 6 Capitol riots, paving the way for a few
former officials of the department to testify on the matter, US media reports
said.

On January 6, scores of Donald Trump supporters stormed the
US Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election as the President
of the United States. Officials can testify on what they saw during the chaotic
events.

The decision applies to former employees of the department. Other
potential witnesses that the committee may want to hear from, such as former
White House officials, may be subject to a different standard under executive
privilege, CNN reported.

Among the potential witnesses from which the House select
committee on the Capitol riots is expected to seek testimony is Jeffrey Rosen, the
acting attorney general from late December until the inauguration of President Biden.

According to reports, Rosen and other officials were under
pressure from Trump to back his claims about the election fraud. According to
CNN, Trump at one point thought of replacing Rosen with Jeffrey Clark due to
the Justice Department not being able to find any evidence to back his claims.

A Justice Department letter notified former employees that
they were free to provide “unrestricted testimony” and
“irrespective of potential privilege,” CNN reported.

The department was asked by the Senate judiciary committee and
House Oversight Committee to allow such testimonies. The select committee on
the Capitol riots is expected to follow that.