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It’s a tale as old as time for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).
The Republican senator is reportedly using his leverage as a senator to, at least temporarily, block the confirmation of Matt Graves, whom President Biden named as his pick to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. Since January of this year that office has overseen more than 600 prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. So far, more than 100 insurrectionists have pleaded guilty to charges related to the attack.
Johnson’s spokesperson Alexa Henning acknowledged to Business Insider that Johnson is one of the Republicans in the Senate who is holding up Graves’ confirmation. Henning also confirmed the information to NBC. Henning said that Johnson’s “hold” on the Graves proceedings is designed to put pressure on the Justice Department to respond to a letter that Johnson and a handful of other Republicans sent to the DOJ this summer, demanding “information” on the supposed “unequal application of justice between the individuals who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, and those involved in the unrest during the spring and summer of 2020,” Johnson said in a press release in June.
Essentially, those Republicans — Johnson, along with Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) — are demanding the DOJ look at charges against protesters arrested during George Floyd demonstrations last summer in the same light as charges against those who violently stormed the Capitol earlier this year. “Despite these numerous examples of violence occurring during these protests, it appears that individuals charged with committing crimes at these events may benefit from infrequent prosecutions and minimal, if any, penalties,” the members of Congress complained, referring to the racial justice protesters. Why, they wondered, weren’t the insurrectionists treated the same?
Well, as we know, those guys were attempting to halt the certification of President Biden’s electoral college victory; i.e., they were participants in an unsuccessful coup.
Johnson is using that bad faith comparison to hold Graves’ confirmation hostage.
“The Biden administration has been completely unresponsive to oversight and lacks transparency not only to Congress but the American people,” Henning told Business Insider, arguing that RonJohn “will be happy to release the hold” once the DOJ responds to Republicans’ requests for information about those prosecutions.
If confirmed, Graves would oversee Jan. 6-related cases as the office deals with federal and local prosecutions. Graves nomination was advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in September along with a handful of other Biden picks for U.S. attorneys offices. All of those nominees were confirmed by the Senate at the end of September — except Graves’.
A Democratic Senate aide confirmed to Business Insider that the nomination is currently stalled by a “Republican hold.” We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
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