Prosecutors must clarify why agency\u2019s new limits on pursuing journalists shouldn\u2019t apply to far-right talk-show host charged in Jan. 6 attack, judge says<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/072121seib.jan6commissionv2_640x360.jpg\")
Jan. 6 Commission, Prosecutions Could Yield Revelations Despite Partisanship
Expectations are low that the Jan. 6 commission will be much more than a setting for a partisan food fight. But as WSJ\u2019s Gerald F. Seib explains, even partisan food fights can bring to the surface important information, as might ongoing court cases. Photo illustration: Todd Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n
By Aruna Viswanatha and Rebecca Ballhaus<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON\u2014Attorney General Merrick Garland\u2019s move last month to\u00a0limit Justice Department probes of journalists<\/a>\u00a0is facing an early test from an unlikely source: a federal judge overseeing a criminal case against a talk-show host on Infowars, a right-wing website known for touting discredited conspiracy theories.<\/p>\nIn an order made public Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors refused to answer on the record whether they had complied with the department\u2019s updated media policy when seeking a warrant to arrest the talk-show host, Owen Shroyer, for his alleged involvement in\u00a0the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe events of January 6th were an attack on the foundation of our democracy,\u201d the judge wrote. \u201cBut this does not relieve the Department of Justice from following its own guidelines, written to preserve the very same democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prosecutors had provided enough evidence to warrant Mr. Shroyer\u2019s being put on criminal trial, Judge Faruqui wrote, but they wouldn\u2019t lay out their reasons for determining that Mr. Shroyer wasn\u2019t a member of the news media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Justice appears to believe that it is the sole enforcer of its regulations,\u201d the judge concluded. \u201cThat leaves the court to wonder who watches the watchmen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jan. 6 Commission, Prosecutions Could Yield Revelations Despite Partisanship
Expectations are low that the Jan. 6 commission will be much more than a setting for a partisan food fight. But as WSJ\u2019s Gerald F. Seib explains, even partisan food fights can bring to the surface important information, as might ongoing court cases. Photo illustration: Todd Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n
By Aruna Viswanatha and Rebecca Ballhaus<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON\u2014Attorney General Merrick Garland\u2019s move last month to\u00a0limit Justice Department probes of journalists<\/a>\u00a0is facing an early test from an unlikely source: a federal judge overseeing a criminal case against a talk-show host on Infowars, a right-wing website known for touting discredited conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n In an order made public Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors refused to answer on the record whether they had complied with the department\u2019s updated media policy when seeking a warrant to arrest the talk-show host, Owen Shroyer, for his alleged involvement in\u00a0the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe events of January 6th were an attack on the foundation of our democracy,\u201d the judge wrote. \u201cBut this does not relieve the Department of Justice from following its own guidelines, written to preserve the very same democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutors had provided enough evidence to warrant Mr. Shroyer\u2019s being put on criminal trial, Judge Faruqui wrote, but they wouldn\u2019t lay out their reasons for determining that Mr. Shroyer wasn\u2019t a member of the news media.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department of Justice appears to believe that it is the sole enforcer of its regulations,\u201d the judge concluded. \u201cThat leaves the court to wonder who watches the watchmen.\u201d<\/p>\n