Democrats call for firing of January 6 defendant who works at justice department

A January 6 defendant who urged fellow rioters to kill police officers should be fired from his job at the justice department, three senate Democrats wrote in a letter to US attorney general Pam Bondi on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the defendant, Jared Wise, was hired as a counselor to Ed Martin, a prominent January 6 defense lawyer who is leading a so-called weaponization working group inside the justice department that is targeting Trump’s political rivals. The scope of Wise’s role remains unclear.

A former FBI agent, Wise referred to police officers as “Nazis” and “Gestapo” on January 6. As violence broke out, Wise said: “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”, according to an FBI affidavit. Wise was charged with two felonies and four misdemeanors. He was on trial for two felony charges related to January 6 when Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, but his case was dismissed as the president quickly halted all prosecutions related to the 2021 insurrection and issued sweeping pardons to all involved.

“We strongly object to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) shameless hiring of Jared Wise as a senior adviser. This is an individual who stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, and was accordingly charged with multiple felony offenses, including assaulting and aiding and abetting the assault of police while on Capitol grounds,” Democratic senators Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Adam Schiff of California wrote in a letter to Bondi. “The Trump Administration’s choices to double down on its politicization of DOJ and elevate those who have actively attacked the rule of law, such as Mr. Wise, are a slap in the face to law enforcement everywhere.

“A transparent explanation regarding the circumstances of this hire and the prompt removal of Jared Wise from his position at the Department of Justice are critical to maintaining public trust in the Department. To that end, we request the immediate termination of Mr. Wise’s employment,” they added.

The Democrats also asked Bondi to provide details of Wise’s role at the department, including his security clearance level, portfolio and a detailed description of his job. It also asks the department to provide a description of his relationship with Martin as well as any communications between the two men.

The justice department did not immediately return a request for comment.

Wise’s hiring at the justice department marked one of the most brazen efforts by Trump and allies to rewrite the history of January 6. In addition to granting sweeping pardons to more than 1,500 people involved in the riot, Trump and allies have demoted or fired career prosecutors who worked on the cases.

The administration also has agreed to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, an air force veteran and January 6 rioter who was killed during the Capitol attack, and pay her family nearly $5m to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. Mark McCloskey, a lawyer for some January 6 defendants, said he had recently approached the justice department about setting up a panel to compensate January 6 rioters.