Congress or DOJ in charge of US Capitol investigation? | Legal Affairs

Where were you on Jan. 6, 2021? Undoubtedly, most, if not all Americans will remember where they were when rioters breached the U.S. Capitol and temporarily prevented Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election. Described by Congress as “one of the darkest days of our democracy,” the riots “resulted in multiple deaths, physical harm to over 140 members of law enforcement, and terror and trauma among staff, institutional employees, press and members (of Congress).”

In July 2021, the House of Representatives formed the Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol (“the Select Committee”). In general, the purposes and functions of the Select Committee are stated as being to “investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes (of the attack)” to “identify, review and evaluate the lessons learned from the (attack)”, and to “issue a final report to the House containing such findings, and recommendations for…changes in law, policy, procedures, rules, or regulations that could be taken …to prevent future acts of violence, including acts targeted at American democratic institutions.”

While the Select Committee got to work issuing subpoenas, conducting depositions of witnesses, and compelling the production of documents, many have questioned (and challenged in court) the constitutionality of the Select Committee’s actions, as well as its very existence.

That is because Congress has no general police power and while it does have the broad power to conduct investigations, “the power is not unlimited” and may only be employed “in aid of the legislative function.”

Opponents point to the public statements of Select Committee members to demonstrate, what they argue, that the committee violates separation of powers. These statements from Committee members include describing its purposes as being to ensure “those responsible are held accountable,” to “tell the complete story of the events of Jan. 6,” and to “get answers for the American people about what happened on Jan. 6.”

Thus, in response, challengers pose the question, “isn’t that the job of the Department of Justice” and allege that the committee is exceeding its authority. Surely, anyone who has ever watched “School House Rock knows” that Congress’s job is to make the law, not enforce it, which is the job of the executive branch through the U.S. Department of Justice. In fact, the DOJ has arrested and charged over 700 individuals with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riots.

In his recent lawsuit against the committee, former President Donald Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows summarized the separation of powers argument stating, “Law enforcement and the punishment of perceived legal wrongs are not valid legislative purposes. To the extent Congress seeks to utilize subpoenas to investigate and punish perceived criminal wrongdoing, it unconstitutionally intrudes on the prerogatives of the executive branch.” See Meadows v. Pelosi.

Firing back, supporters of…