Latest news with #CapitolSiegeSection
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Top Jan. 6 prosecutor says Trump's Capitol riot pardons signal approval of political violence
WASHINGTON — The federal prosecutor who oversaw the Capitol riot investigation is speaking out about President Donald Trump's mass pardon of Jan. 6 rioters and the Trump administration's targeting of career law enforcement officials who worked cases against the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol. Greg Rosen, who was the chief of the Capitol Siege Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, called the Justice Department's handling of Jan. 6 cases appropriate, proportional and righteous, noting that hundreds of defendants convicted of misdemeanors ultimately were sentenced to probation. 'The concept that these defendants were railroaded or mistreated is belied by the actual facts,' Rosen said in an interview days after he resigned from the Justice Department. 'The reality is every single case was treated with the utmost scrutiny, and every single case required the same level of due process, maximal due process afforded by the U.S. Constitution." Judges appointed by presidents of both parties adjudicated the cases, and Rosen said the historical record created by the prosecutions "is what will speak volumes, not conjecture and not speculation.' Rosen, who was previously a prosecutor in Virginia, served at the Justice Department for more than a decade, culminating in his role overseeing the Jan. 6 cases, leading a unit that was shut down when Trump came to office. Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants and commuted the sentences of members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Those pardons, Rosen said, sent the wrong message to the American public. 'The underlying message of the pardons and the expressive nature of the pardons is that political violence is acceptable, particularly if it's done for a specific purpose,' Rosen said. 'Political violence in an American society, in a constitutional republic, is essentially the brain rot of the republic. I think Benjamin Franklin once said, 'It's a republic if you can keep it.' To have pardons ... pardoned people who committed wrong, objectively speaking, and then to celebrate that is a message to the American people that the rule of law may not matter.' Rosen resigned from the Justice Department last week and is joining a private law firm after a tumultuous few months when some of his colleagues were fired, while he and other leaders were demoted to entry-level positions by the former interim U.S. attorney for Washington, Ed Martin, whom Trump named as his pardon attorney and as director of the Justice Department's working group investigating what Trump has called "weaponization" of law enforcement against himself and allies. Rosen also spoke about the Trump administration's pending settlement of a lawsuit filed by the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a broken glass door in the building. Trump and his allies are also discussing potential settlements with Jan. 6 defendants. Rosen called the news "shocking" and said it was not supported by the evidence. The notion that Jan. 6 defendants were "part of some system of weaponization is just not borne out by the truth, it's not borne out by the facts," he said. The public, Rosen said, often overlooks that the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants began in the final days of Trump's first term, when Trump himself was publicly declaring that rioters would be held accountable. Rosen said it should be easy to evaluate what happened from an apolitical and nonpartisan perspective. "A crime obviously occurred," Rosen said. "We investigated that crime, we brought charges, and those charges were vetted and scrupulously analyzed by — not only internal to the department," before charges were brought, "but externally, by judges and juries.' Rosen said the firings and demotions of federal employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases have left the Trump administration less prepared to handle the types of cases it proclaimed to want to prioritize. "The irony here is that every single one of those prosecutors, the ones who were fired or the ones who were demoted, were individuals who would have otherwise served the community, served the District of Columbia and helped prevent violent crime in a way consistent with any administration's priorities, let alone this administration's priorities," Rosen said. "Frankly, it's ridiculous that we are seeing retaliation being taken against people who did their jobs and did their jobs effectively with the full-throated support of the United States government." 'This is not a circumstance where we are essentially deep state actors, so to speak. We are just trying to do our jobs,' he said. 'From my perspective, it sends a terrible message. It sends a message that every aspect of what you do will somehow be politicized or the word I think that keeps getting used is 'weaponized,' and that's very unfortunate.' Rosen, whose father was in law enforcement, said he always wanted to be a trial attorney. He was drawn to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington because of its unique status as an office that prosecutes both local and federal crimes. Now, Rosen is joining the boutique litigation firm Rogers Joseph O'Donnell, as some Washington law firms that have worked cases against Trump or his priorities face threats from the administration. "Law firms, whether you are on a firm that is from big law or whether you're at a solo practitioning firm, you should be able to represent your clients zealously and zealously in a way that is not impacted by who the president of the United States is," Rosen said. "There can be a chilling effect. And I think what we're seeing in the litigation across the board, particularly when it came to some of the executive orders, is that firms can be practically, morally and financially impacted in ways that could not just hurt the business, but undermine the rule of law and the ability of lawyers to fulfill their constitutional duties." Rosen said he hopes the record created by the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants helps shape how the attack is perceived in history, even as political actors chip away at its reality. "What I hope the takeaway will be to citizens of this country is that what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, was a national disgrace and then the prosecution that followed reaffirmed the principles of the rule of law and vindicated the rights and the bravery of law enforcement," Rosen said. 'I would not change a thing about the way we conducted ourselves and the honor in which we brought to the court and to the system,' he added. This article was originally published on
NBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Top Jan. 6 prosecutor says Trump's Capitol riot pardons signal approval of political violence
WASHINGTON — The federal prosecutor who oversaw the Capitol riot investigation is speaking out about President Donald Trump's mass pardon of Jan. 6 rioters and the Trump administration's targeting of career law enforcement officials who worked cases against the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol. Greg Rosen, who was the chief of the Capitol Siege Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, called the Justice Department's handling of Jan. 6 cases appropriate, proportional and righteous, noting that hundreds of defendants convicted of misdemeanors ultimately were sentenced to probation. 'The concept that these defendants were railroaded or mistreated is belied by the actual facts,' Rosen said in an interview days after he resigned from the Justice Department. 'The reality is every single case was treated with the utmost scrutiny, and every single case required the same level of due process, maximal due process afforded by the U.S. Constitution." Judges appointed by presidents of both parties adjudicated the cases, and Rosen said the historical record created by the prosecutions "is what will speak volumes, not conjecture and not speculation.' Rosen, who was previously a prosecutor in Virginia, served at the Justice Department for more than a decade, culminating in his role overseeing the Jan. 6 cases, leading a unit that was shut down when Trump came to office. Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants and commuted the sentences of members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Those pardons, Rosen said, sent the wrong message to the American public. 'The underlying message of the pardons and the expressive nature of the pardons is that political violence is acceptable, particularly if it's done for a specific purpose,' Rosen said. 'Political violence in an American society, in a constitutional republic, is essentially the brain rot of the republic. I think Benjamin Franklin once said, 'It's a republic if you can keep it.' To have pardons ... pardoned people who committed wrong, objectively speaking, and then to celebrate that is a message to the American people that the rule of law may not matter.' Rosen resigned from the Justice Department last week and is joining a private law firm after a tumultuous few months when some of his colleagues were fired, while he and other leaders were demoted to entry-level positions by the former interim U.S. attorney for Washington, Ed Martin, whom Trump named as his pardon attorney and as director of the Justice Department's working group investigating what Trump has called "weaponization" of law enforcement against himself and allies. Rosen also spoke about the Trump administration's pending settlement of a lawsuit filed by the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a broken glass door in the building. Trump and his allies are also discussing potential settlements with Jan. 6 defendants. Rosen called the news "shocking" and said it was not supported by the evidence. The notion that Jan. 6 defendants were "part of some system of weaponization is just not borne out by the truth, it's not borne out by the facts," he said. The public, Rosen said, often overlooks that the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants began in the final days of Trump's first term, when Trump himself was publicly declaring that rioters would be held accountable. Rosen said it should be easy to evaluate what happened from an apolitical and nonpartisan perspective. "A crime obviously occurred," Rosen said. "We investigated that crime, we brought charges, and those charges were vetted and scrupulously analyzed by — not only internal to the department," before charges were brought, "but externally, by judges and juries.' Rosen said the firings and demotions of federal employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases have left the Trump administration less prepared to handle the types of cases it proclaimed to want to prioritize. "The irony here is that every single one of those prosecutors, the ones who were fired or the ones who were demoted, were individuals who would have otherwise served the community, served the District of Columbia and helped prevent violent crime in a way consistent with any administration's priorities, let alone this administration's priorities," Rosen said. "Frankly, it's ridiculous that we are seeing retaliation being taken against people who did their jobs and did their jobs effectively with the full-throated support of the United States government." 'This is not a circumstance where we are essentially deep state actors, so to speak. We are just trying to do our jobs,' he said. 'From my perspective, it sends a terrible message. It sends a message that every aspect of what you do will somehow be politicized or the word I think that keeps getting used is 'weaponized,' and that's very unfortunate.' Rosen, whose father was in law enforcement, said he always wanted to be a trial attorney. He was drawn to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington because of its unique status as an office that prosecutes both local and federal crimes. Now, Rosen is joining the boutique litigation firm Rogers Joseph O'Donnell, as some Washington law firms that have worked cases against Trump or his priorities face threats from the administration. "Law firms, whether you are on a firm that is from big law or whether you're at a solo practitioning firm, you should be able to represent your clients zealously and zealously in a way that is not impacted by who the president of the United States is," Rosen said. "There can be a chilling effect. And I think what we're seeing in the litigation across the board, particularly when it came to some of the executive orders, is that firms can be practically, morally and financially impacted in ways that could not just hurt the business, but undermine the rule of law and the ability of lawyers to fulfill their constitutional duties." Rosen said he hopes the record created by the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants helps shape how the attack is perceived in history, even as political actors chip away at its reality. "What I hope the takeaway will be to citizens of this country is that what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, was a national disgrace and then the prosecution that followed reaffirmed the principles of the rule of law and vindicated the rights and the bravery of law enforcement," Rosen said. 'I would not change a thing about the way we conducted ourselves and the honor in which we brought to the court and to the system,' he added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chief Capitol Riot Prosecutor Quits After Trump's ‘Terrible Message'
The federal prosecutor who helped oversee the Justice Department's mammoth probe of Capitol rioters has left for the private sector, slamming Donald Trump's sweeping pardons on the way out. A longtime assistant U.S. attorney, Greg Rosen served as chief of the DOJ's Capitol Siege Section, overseeing a team that investigated hundreds of cases connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack carried out by Trump's supporters. In an interview, Rosen told CBS News' Scott MacFarlane that the president's decision to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 1,500 people involved with the storming of the Capitol 'sends a terrible message to the American people.' 'Individuals who were duly—and appropriately—convicted of federal crimes ranging in culpability are immediately let loose without any supervision, without any remorse, without any rehabilitation to civil society," he said. After Trump took office, the Capitol Siege Section was disbanded. Rosen has taken a job at Rogers Joseph O'Donnell, a private law firm in Washington, D.C. 'Beyond excited for my new adventure,' he wrote on LinkedIn, telling CBS News he 'felt like it was time for a change.' The firm said in a press release that Rosen was joining its practice groups focused on white collar criminal defense and government contracts. 'Rosen was entrusted with supervising more than 1000 prosecutions connected with the January 6, 2021 breach and attack of the U.S. Capitol, the largest federal prosecution in American history,' the release said. Ed Martin, Trump's initial pick to lead the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C., was a 'Stop the Steal' advocate who spread conspiracy theories about the riot. His nomination was unsuccessful; former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is Trump's next pick for the job. Rosen also slammed the 'ridiculous' decision to fire or sideline prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. 'To see those talented prosecutors be marginalized or removed from office is an affront to the independence of the department,' Rosen told CBS. In one of his most brazen acts since returning to office, Trump issued mass pardons for individuals charged or convicted over the Capitol riot, wiping clean the records of defendants who were charged with offenses ranging from trespassing to assaulting law enforcement, including members of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Critics have slammed the move as a dangerous whitewashing of political violence and an attempt to signal to supporters that loyalty will be rewarded. Trump had long cast the defendants as victims of unfair political persecution and pledged on the campaign trail to pardon them if elected.
28-04-2025
- Politics
Former Jan. 6 prosecutor warns Trump's pardons could encourage future political violence
WASHINGTON -- Michael Romano spent more than 17 years at the Justice Department, eventually becoming a supervisor on the team that would prosecute more than 1,500 people charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The moment he watched the largest investigation in department history get wiped away with the stroke of a pen — on President Donald Trump's first day back in the White House — Romano knew he had to leave. 'I knew on January 20th, when the pardons were announced, that I needed to find my way out," Romano said in an interview with The Associated Press weeks after his resignation from the Justice Department. 'It would be untenable for me to stay, given the pardons and given the false narratives that were being spread about January 6." Now, Romano says he fears Trump's decision to pardon even the most violent rioters — whom his own vice president once said 'obviously' shouldn't be pardoned — could embolden right-wing extremists and encourage future political violence. 'The way that the pardons have been received by the January 6th defendants and by other right-wing extremists, as I understand it, is to recognize that if you support the president and if you commit violence in support of the president, that he might insulate you from the consequences, that he might protect you from the criminal justice system,' Romano said. 'And so that might encourage people to commit these sort of acts.' Romano is among dozens of Justice Department lawyers who have resigned, been pushed out or fired in the weeks since Trump's new leadership has taken over and begun making sweeping changes to align the law enforcement agency with the priorities of the Republican president whom the department once prosecuted. Trump's return to the White House has ushered in a dizzying change for many in the Justice Department, but perhaps few have felt it more than the lawyers who spent years working on the largest-scale serious attack on the Capitol since the war of 1812. As a deputy chief of the now-disbanded Capitol Siege Section that prosecuted the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, Romano had a close-up view of the evidence, including harrowing videos and court testimony detailing the violence that unfolded when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify former President Joe Biden's 2020 victory. Romano joined the Justice Department in 2007 straight out of law school, and was working in the section in Washington that handles public corruption cases on Jan. 6, 2021. He recalled watching the riot unfold on television, and quickly deciding he wanted to help with the prosecution of what he described as a 'crime of historic proportions.' Trump's pardons cemented the president's yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack. While vying to return to the White House, Trump repeatedly downplayed the violence that left more than 100 police officers injured, and lauded the rioters as patriots and hostages whom he contended were unfairly persecuted by the Justice Department for their political beliefs. Only two Capitol riot defendants were acquitted of all charges, which Trump supporters cited as evidence that Washington juries can't be fair and impartial. Some Jan. 6 defendants are now considering running for office. The scope of Trump's clemency hours after the inauguration came as a surprise to many, considering the president had suggested in the weeks prior that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Trump's proclamation described the prosecution as 'a grave national injustice" and declared that the pardons would begin 'a process of national reconciliation.' Trump's pardons led to the release from prison of the leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power as well as rioters convicted of brutal attacks on police — many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV. Trump has defended his pardons, saying the sentences handed down for actions that day were 'ridiculous and excessive" and that 'these are people who actually love our country.' Romano said the notion that the Jan. 6 defendants were not treated fairly by in the justice system or not given the due process they were entitled is 'simply not true.' In many cases, he said prosecutors had overwhelming evidence because the defendants 'filmed themselves proudly committing crimes.' 'They had the full protection of rights guaranteed to them by the American justice system and the Constitution," Romano said. 'It was my experience when dealing with these cases and seeing the way that the rioters and some of their attorneys behaved in court, that their take was that they should be treated like heroes and not prosecuted at all.' Despite the pardons, Romano said he still believes that the Capitol Siege Section's work was important because it left behind a 'historical record' of what happened on Jan. 6 that cannot be changed. 'In light of the efforts to whitewash the history of that day, in light of the efforts for people to lie about that day for their own benefit, which is what's happening, it's important that people really understand the truth about what happened on January 6th,' he said.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jan. 6 prosecutors demoted by Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Washington
WASHINGTON — At least seven top prosecutors inside the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia — including some involved in Jan. 6 prosecutions — were demoted to entry-level positions by the new Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney, multiple officials told NBC News. Ed Martin, a conservative activist with no prosecutorial experience who President Donald Trump named interim U.S. attorney and who has been nominated to take over the critical office on a permanent basis, informed several supervisors that they had been demoted to handle misdemeanor cases or join a unit that initiates lower-level local cases, according to several multiple sources and messages seen by NBC News. The lead prosecutors on both the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy case and the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case, among the highest-profile Jan. 6 prosecutions, were demoted to work cases in D.C. Superior Court, multiple sources said. So was the chief of the Capitol Siege Section, which was disbanded when Trump took office and pardoned more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants. 'They really rubber roomed a lot of people,' one federal law enforcement official said. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington is unique in that it handles both federal crimes in U.S. District Court as well local crimes in Superior Court. Demoting leaders on the federal side of the office to the lowest level of the Superior Court team, one law enforcement source said, 'is the biggest f--- you that you can receive,' noting that many of these supervisors worked misdemeanors when they first started out as 'baby prosecutors.' Amongst the prosecutors demoted, multiple current and former law enforcement officials said, were Greg Rosen, who was in charge of the Capitol Siege Section. 'Greg Rosen, who ran the Capitol Siege Section, was, quite literally, the best boss and team leader I've ever seen," former Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Ballou said in a statement to NBC News. "Like a great football coach, he brought the best out of every player. That Ed Martin is trying to demote or humiliate him speaks to the smallness of Martin and his agenda." This article was originally published on
