White House touts Justice Department independence after Biden calls for Jan. 6 subpoena prosecutions
by Katherine Doyle, White House Correspondent |
| October 18, 2021 03:50 PM
The White House is attempting to walk back President Joe Biden’s assertion that any person who defies a subpoena from the Jan. 6 congressional committee should face federal prosecution.
“He believes it’s an independent decision that should be made by the Department of Justice, and they’ll make that decision,” press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday in response to questions about the president’s comments Friday.
Biden has pledged to keep the Justice Department free of White House influence, telling voters last year that “the Justice Department in my administration will be totally independent of me.”
But asked by reporters whether he believed the DOJ should prosecute any person who defies a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots, Biden weighed in.
“I do, yes,” Biden said Friday.
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