4 months ago
WASHINGTON - To people nan 5th day of nan Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected nan U.S. Capitol, House Judiciary Committee Democrats released respective reports to item nan domiciled Trump friends played successful efforts to overturn nan 2020 predetermination and nan contrasting fates of those who defended democracy.
Former Ohio Solicitor General T. Elliot Gaiser, a 36-year-old Cleveland native, is featured prominently successful 1 of nan reports, branded arsenic 1 of nan “Trump Lawyers and Officials” who were “deeply progressive successful nan effort to overthrow nan election” and now clasp positions successful Trump’s 2nd statesmanlike administration.
The report, titled “Where Are They Now: The Perpetrators of January 6th and nan Defenders of Democracy Who Stopped Them” and released Monday, singles retired Gaiser for his domiciled arsenic a Trump campaign lawyer, who crafted “legal arguments utilized to beforehand nan conspiracy to overturn nan 2020 predetermination results, including nan declare that Vice President Mike Pence had nan ineligible authority to garbage to admit Electors from definite states successful nan certification process connected January 6th.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed nan U.S. Capitol successful an effort to extremity Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s triumph successful nan 2020 statesmanlike election. The rioters, who had gathered successful Washington aft Trump urged them to “stop nan steal” astatine a rally adjacent nan White House, collapsed done constabulary lines, smashed windows, and invaded nan Capitol building, temporarily halting nan proceedings. The attackers assaulted rule enforcement officers pinch weapons including shot bats, metallic pipes, and carnivore spray, chanted “hang Mike Pence” arsenic they searched for nan vice president and members of Congress, and forced lawmakers and Pence to evacuate to unafraid locations.
More than 140 constabulary officers were injured.
House Democrats scheme to clasp a position astatine nan Capitol astatine 10 a.m. Tuesday featuring erstwhile rule enforcement officers and prosecutors who worked connected Jan. 6 cases, while Democratic leaders will stitchery connected nan Senate steps astatine 5 p.m. to grant those whose lives were lost. In a stark split-screen moment, scores of pardoned Jan. 6 defendants will march from nan Ellipse to nan Capitol starting astatine 11:45 a.m. successful what organizers are calling a memorial for Ashli Babbitt, nan rioter who was changeable and killed by constabulary arsenic she tried to illegally participate nan Capitol.
The caller study notes Gaiser “developed immoderate of nan arguments President Trump made to support his mendacious declare that he had really won Pennsylvania’s 20 Electoral College votes.”
The U.S. Senate in July 2025 confirmed Gaiser arsenic caput of nan U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides ineligible proposal to nan president and each executive branch agencies, drafts nan Attorney General’s ineligible opinions and provides its ain written opinions and proposal successful consequence to executive branch requests.
Since he’s been astatine nan Justice Department, nan study says, Gaiser oversaw “the mentation of a memorandum authorizing nan Trump Administration to termination noncombatants successful nan Caribbean” arsenic portion of a subject run targeting supplier trafficking operations.
The Justice Department’s property agency did not respond to a Monday petition for remark connected nan Democrats’ report.
During his Senate confirmation proceeding successful May, Gaiser declined to talk nan proposal he provided to nan Trump campaign, citing attorney-client privilege.
When pressed by Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse astir his governmental turnaround successful support of Trump, Gaiser responded: “Like millions of Americans, I person seen nan courageousness and nan results that President Trump has delivered. I watched successful that section successful Pennsylvania arsenic he stood aft nan assassin’s bullet. And I dream my children look up to and unrecorded up to that benignant of courageousness successful their lives.”
A group of 23 GOP attorneys wide including Ohio’s Dave Yost endorsed Gaiser’s nomination, applauding his “intelligence, conscientiousness, and activity ethic firsthand.
“Mr. Gaiser played a cardinal domiciled successful pushing backmost against galore of nan Biden-Harris Administration’s excesses, including starring nan complaint successful Ohio v. E.P.A. against California’s forbidden car ban,” they said successful a missive to nan Senate Judiciary Committee. “Mr. Gaiser’s ineligible acumen is matched by his integrity and dedication to serving nan public.”
In nan report’s introduction, nan committee’s apical Democrat, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, decried Trump for pardoning 1,600 Jan. 6th rioters connected nan time of his 2nd inauguration. Another study from nan committee’s Democrats noted astatine slightest 33 of nan pardoned rioters were convicted of, charged with, aliases arrested for further crimes since nan convulsive onslaught connected nan Capitol.
“The American law strategy has grounded to unambiguously repudiate and cull nan largest wide convulsive onslaught connected nan Capitol successful our history, 1 that was successful nonstop work of an attempted governmental coup,” Raskin wrote successful nan preface to nan study featuring Gaiser.
The study profiles respective different Trump friends now serving successful high-level positions, including Jeffrey Clark, who now serves successful nan White House Office of Management and Budget, and Ed Martin, who serves arsenic U.S. Pardon Attorney and heads nan DOJ Weaponization Working Group. The study notes that Martin himself was coming astatine nan Capitol connected Jan. 6.
It contrasts their destiny pinch that of profession prosecutors who were fired for investigating nan attackers, arsenic good arsenic rule enforcement officers who suffered terrible injuries while defending nan Capitol, including U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who was forced to resign successful 2022 owed to imperishable injuries sustained during nan attack, and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a bosom attack, traumatic encephalon wounded and PTSD aft being dragged down nan Capitol steps and beaten by rioters.
