By Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Wednesday, addressing key questions regarding the presence of federal government confidential human sources at the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, mobbing of Capitol.
During the hearing, which focused on allegations of the FBI using its security clearance process to target conservatives and whistleblowers, Horowitz was questioned by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, about whether federal assets were among the crowd at the Capitol on the day of the riot.
“Do you have evidence of the number of confidential human sources that were operating on the Capitol grounds on January 6th?” Massie asked, according to Fox News.
Horowitz revealed that his office is currently conducting a review of the Justice Department’s actions surrounding January 6, though that investigation had been paused due to ongoing criminal cases. The inquiry resumed last year. Massie pressed Horowitz for specific details, asking how many confidential human sources were present at the Capitol, including whether there were more than 100 federal informants in the crowd.
“Our report will include the information in that regard,” Horowitz said, though he declined to give precise numbers. He explained that the report was still in draft form and subject to a classification review. “I need to be careful,” Horowitz added, noting that he could not disclose certain details until the review process was complete.
Massie continued to probe for more information, asking if Horowitz could confirm whether any confidential human sources were reimbursed for travel. Horowitz responded that he could not recall the number of individuals who received such reimbursements at the time of the hearing.
Horowitz indicated that his report would likely be completed after the 2024 election but expressed hope that it would be released before the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Last week, during a hearing about the FBI’s role, if any, in the mobbing of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Massie accused Attorney General Merrick Garland of lying to Congress, reported The New York Post.
Garland informed Massie and other members of the House Judiciary Committee that he was unaware of any federal involvement in the events of January 6, despite an FBI official testifying in June that “a handful” of confidential informants were present.
“That was your answer to a question to me two years ago, when I said how many agents or assets of the government were present on January 5 and January 6, and agitating in the crowd to go into the Capitol and how many went into the Capitol,” Massie recounted. “Can you answer that now?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Garland replied.
“You don’t know how many there were, or there were none?” Massie pressed.
“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions,” Garland said. “If there were any, I don’t know how many. I don’t know whether there are any.”
“I think you may have just perjured yourself — that you don’t know that there were any? You want to say that again?” Massie shot back.
The comments came just days after it was revealed by Chairman Barry Loudermilk of the House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight that in the days leading up to January 6, 2021, President Trump met with top Pentagon officials, instructing them to take necessary actions to protect lives and property. Newly released transcripts indicate that Trump directed Pentagon leadership to ensure peace on January 6, including the deployment of the National Guard—orders that were reportedly ignored.
This revelation contradicted the findings of the Department of Defense’s Inspector General report on the events of January 6.
“Pentagon leaders put optics over their duty to protect lives,” Chairman Loudermilk stated. “President Trump made it clear to senior Pentagon officials that safety was the priority on January 6, 2021. It’s deeply troubling that they disregarded his guidance and misled Congress into believing they were fulfilling their duties when they were not. The DoD IG report is fundamentally flawed—it avoids conclusions from the very interviews it conducted, pushing a narrative to shield those involved. We have many questions for the Pentagon, and we will not stop until the American people know the full truth.”
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