DOJ speculation on charges in NY Times riles judge

 Washington Examiner:

A federal judge criticized the Justice Department in a rare rebuke after DOJ officials speculated in the media about possible sedition charges against members of the Oath Keepers tied to the Capitol riot of Jan. 6.

U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said during a court hearing conducted by phone and Zoom he was "surprised" to see Michael Sherwin, the former acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and other officials discussing the pending investigation into the insurrection in interviews with the New York Times and CBS's 60 Minutes.

A federal prosecutor informed the judge that the situation will be referred for investigation.

“I was surprised — and I’m being restrained in my use of terminology — surprised, to say the least, to see Mr. Sherwin sitting for an interview about a pending case in an ongoing criminal investigation. Whether his interview violated Justice Department policy is really not for me to say, but it is something I hope the Department of Justice is looking into,” the judge said. “As for the New York Times story, I found it troubling that sources within the Department of Justice were detailing the possibility of additional charges in a pending criminal case in an ongoing criminal investigation. I have little doubt that anonymously divulging internal department deliberations is contrary to department policy.”

PROSECUTOR HINTS AT SEDITION CHARGES FOR CAPITOL RIOT

The judge said he remains committed to trying defendants based on the facts of a case rather than speculation.

“No matter how much press attention this matter gets, let me be clear that these defendants are entitled to a fair trial, not one that is conducted in the media," Mehta said. "They are also entitled to defend against charges that are actually brought against them, not speculation about what might or might not be coming. … The fact is, these types of statements in the media have the potential of affecting the jury pool and the rights of these defendants, and the government, quite frankly, in my view, should know better.”

John Crabb, who runs the criminal division for the prosecutor’s office in the nation’s capital, told the judge that the DOJ was taking action.

“We understand, and we share the court’s concerns about these media contacts and disclosures that have been made,” Crabb said.

The DOJ official said the department's rules and procedures for contact with the media "were not complied with respect to that 60 Minutes interview" as far as the department can tell, adding, "That matter has been referred to the Department of Justice’s Office of Responsibility."

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The DOJ has too many political actors on the payroll.  We saw it as they tried to manufacturer a case against President Trump and his campaign operatives on the basis of the Russian collusion hoax.  The place has become something of a Democrat hit squad.  While those who committed crimes in the capitol riots should face justice, so should those who committed more egregious crimes in the attempted arson of the federal courthouse by Antifa.  The idea that Antifa is just an "idea" is absurd.  It is a domestic terror group and acts like the militant wing of the Democrat party. 

BTW, sedition looks like an overcharge against those who illegally broke into the capitol building.  They appeared to be protesting what they saw as vote fraud by Democrats to steal an election.  We are seeing evidence that Democrat officials in swing states engaged in unconstitutional actions to help Biden.  The refusal of officials to even consider their concerns probably triggered the action.