{"id":2985,"date":"2026-06-17T21:06:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2985"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:06:43","slug":"nominee-for-doj-watchdog-says-violence-on-january-6-wasnt-an-attack-on-the-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2985","title":{"rendered":"Nominee for DOJ watchdog says violence on January 6 wasn\u2019t an \u2018attack\u2019 on the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div> <div>\n<button>\n<strong>\n<span><svg>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<span>Summary<\/span>\n<\/strong>\n<span><svg><\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<span><svg><\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<\/button>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>President Donald Trump&#8217;s nominee to lead the Justice Department&#8217;s internal watchdog office refused to call the January 6 violence an attack.<\/li>\n<li>Don Berthiaume told senators the term attack implies a coordinated effort to target specific things.<\/li>\n<li>Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he asked questions about January 6 to test the nominee&#8217;s independence from the White House.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<span>AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Justice Department\u2019s internal watchdog office repeatedly refused in his confirmation hearing to use the word \u201cattack\u201d to describe the violence on January 6, 2021, that disrupted Congress\u2019 election certification vote.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2979\">Pastors for Trump founder withdraws from US House race after texting scandal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI don\u2019t know if I would use the term \u2018attack,\u2019\u201d Don Berthiaume, the nominee to be the DOJ inspector general, told senators on Wednesday. \u201cI mean, we had activity outside the Capitol \u2014protests and such \u2014 and there was violence on the Capitol grounds.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, had asked Berthiaume if the Capitol was attacked on January 6, and he grilled the nominee on why he would not agree to characterize the events of that day as an attack.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThere was protest activity, people went to the Capitol grounds. People entered the Capitol building, which is contrary \u2013 as far as I know \u2013 to law,\u201d Berthiaume said, while stressing that he didn\u2019t \u201cagree\u201d with the term attack even as he acknowledged the \u201cphysical violence\u201d outside the Capitol that day.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThe term attack \u2014 to me \u2014 seems to imply that there was a coordinated effort to attack specific things,\u201d the nominee added.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The position of inspector general was created by Congress, among a host of post-Watergate reforms in the 1970s, to investigate waste, fraud and abuse within executive branch agencies.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2977\">Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor\u2019s call for 2028 redistricting<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<header>\n<span>\n      Related article\n    <\/span>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The new JPMorgan Chase global headquarters building at 270 Park Avenue is seen on November 13, 2025 in New York.\" class=\"wp-image-2983\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5ac2e64b42f35adf9b6af15f68d96c59.jpg\" width=\"256\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>The new JPMorgan Chase global headquarters building at 270 Park Avenue is seen on November 13, 2025 in New York.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Angela Weiss\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n<span>Jan. 6 debanking probe once floated as way to pad anti-weaponization fund<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div>4  min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Berthiaume has experience working as an attorney within the Justice Department\u2019s inspector general office, and has served in oversight roles at other agencies.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Earlier in his questioning, Blumenthal asked Berthiaume who won the 2020 election. That question has tripped up Trump nominees for judgeships and for other government positions. Berthiaume, echoing a tactic used by other nominees, said that President Joe Biden had been \u201ccertified\u201d by the Senate as the winner.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Berthiaume denied discussing with the White House how he\u2019d answer that question.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A\" class=\"wp-image-2984\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f178e5206fa6ed906f1daef32edc63a.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f178e5206fa6ed906f1daef32edc63a.jpg 768w, https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f178e5206fa6ed906f1daef32edc63a-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>A<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>CSPAN<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Blumenthal said Wednesday that he asked questions about the 2020 election results and the January 6 attack as a test of the nominee\u2019s independence.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Trump has taken several steps to undermine the institution of inspectors general, including with mass firings that did not follow the procedures set by out Congress for terminating those officials. A federal court found those removals likely to be unlawful, but declined to reinstate the fired IGs into the positions.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Berthiaume said Wednesday that he agreed with the court\u2019s conclusion that the terminations broke the law.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2975\">Thwarted attack on UFC fight is another reason to build White House ballroom, Trump DOJ argues<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Justice Department\u2019s internal watchdog office repeatedly refused in his confirmation hearing to use the word \u201cattack\u201d to describe the violence on January 6, 2021, that disrupted Congress\u2019 election certification vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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