US Justice Department places prosecutors on leave for January 6 reference

According to reports, the US Department of Justice has placed two federal prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, on administrative leave after calling the attack on the Capitol “a mob of rioters.”

The two prosecutors&nbsp’s documents were updated to remove references to the January 6 attack in addition to the original documents.

The prosecutors were escorted out of their government equipment on Wednesday, the same day as the new filings were made.

Despite the anonymity of Reuters and The Associated Press, both men worked for the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The President’s administration recently took action against federal prosecutors who participated in unfavorable cases, as the Republican leader’s punishment was.

Trump has long defended the attackers who carried out the attack on January 6 and has even pardoned more than 1,500 rioters who were still facing criminal charges or convictions in his first year in office.

Another 14 rioters received a commuted sentence. Trump referred to the prosecutions as “grave national injustices” in a presidential statement.

Trump’s false accusations that his 2020 presidential election defeat had been “rigged” contributed to the attack on the Capitol. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol the day the Electoral College votes were being certified by insiders due to the false information.

More than 100 police officers were hurt in the attack, with several fatalities linked to it, including a protester shot as they attempted to enter the Speaker’s Lobby, and a police officer who collapsed and suffered multiple strokes, possibly as a result of the stress of being assaulted.

Some police officers received hockey sticks, fire extinguishers, and flag poles as punishment.

The two prosecutors’ suspensions on Wednesday have not yet been made public by the Justice Department.

Taylor Taranto, a veteran of the Navy and one of the pardoned by Trump for his role in the January 6 attack, was scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday.

He was spotted trying to break into the Speaker’s Chamber, a restricted area, during the altercation. Before Trump pardoned his charges, Taranto was accused of four misdemeanours for those deeds.

Taranto was found guilty in May of a charge not related to the case, which included spreading false information and hoaxes, as well as illegally carrying two firearms and the unlawful possession of ammunition.

On June 29, 2023, Taranto was detained close to a Washington, DC address that was allegedly associated with former US president Barack Obama, one of Trump’s political rivals.

After Trump posted the address on social media, Taranto drove to the area and live-streamed his progress in an effort to find “tunnels” to enter the home.

Secret Service agents confronted him as he entered a restricted area and left his car. According to him, “Gotta get the shot, stop at nothing to get the shot.”

His van reportedly contained more than 500 rounds of ammunition.

A car bomb was suspected to be traveling toward the National Institute of Standards and Technology on a “hoax” video that was released the day before.

He was described as a “journalist” and “comedian,” according to Taranto’s defense attorneys. However, Taranto’s lawyers have requested a sentence that goes beyond two years in prison.

That recommendation for sentencing was kept in the revised documents released on Wednesday.

White and Valdivia, two suspended prosecutors, were praised by US District Judge Carl Nichols at the hearing on Thursday, saying they did a “commendable and excellent job” and that their conduct exhibited the “highest standards of professionalism” in the case.

In the end, Nichols gave Taranto a 21-month prison sentence. Taranto won’t be incarcerated for another 22 months because he has already been.

Regardless of the current presidential administration, career prosecutors are assigned to criminal cases.

However, the Trump White House has repeatedly attempted to intimidate, if not to fire, those accused of prosecuting cases that conflict with the president’s wishes.

For instance, nearly two dozen US Attorney’s Office employees in Washington, DC were fired in January, many of whom had connections to the federal court cases against former President Joe Biden that arose on January 6.

Source: Aljazeera