美国司法部周五晚间发表声明，重申其承诺，在乔·拜登总统告诉记者，他希望无视国会特别委员会传票的证人调查1月6日的暴乱会面临联邦起诉。
「律政司会完全根据事实和法律，对所有检控作出独立决定。句号。句号，”DOJ发言人安东尼·科里说。
这份声明是在拜登周五回到白宫后发表评论后发表的，当时他被问及他对那些无视1月6日特别委员会传票的人的信息是什么。
拜登从康涅狄格州旅行回来后说:“我希望委员会追查他们，并追究他们的责任。
当被问及他是否认为这些人应该被司法部起诉时，拜登回答说，“我认为，是的。”
拜登发表上述言论的前一天，调查1月6日暴动的众议院委员会宣布将于下周二开会，讨论考虑刑事藐视法庭诉讼针对史蒂夫·班农，特朗普的一名前助手拒绝服从寻求证词的传票，以及在国会大厦被攻占的几天里他可能与前总统有过的任何交流。
无论是作为候选人还是在任期间，拜登都一再承诺要在白宫和司法部之间筑起一道关于刑事问题的墙，批评者认为，在他的前任执政期间，这些问题已经完全恶化——特朗普多次呼吁起诉他的政敌，并向官员施压，要求他们采取后来表示抵制的行动。
该委员会在一份声明中表示:“尽管特别委员会欢迎与寻求配合我们调查的证人真诚接触，但我们不会允许任何证人无视合法传票或试图超时，我们将迅速考虑推进藐视国会的刑事案件移交。”。
司法部长梅里克·加兰也同样表示，他希望恢复司法部在政治事务上的独立性。
在他们周五发表似乎反对拜登言论的声明之前，司法部一再拒绝向美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)发表评论，说明如果美国众议院投票支持1月6日一名委员会证人拒绝合作导致的刑事藐视法庭案，司法部可能会如何行动。
DOJ pledges independence after Biden calls for prosecutions of those who defy Jan. 6 committee subpoenas
The Justice Department on Friday evening issued a statement reiterating its commitment to remain independent soon after President Joe Biden told reporters he hoped that witnesses who defy subpoenas from Congress' select committeeinvestigating the Jan. 6 riotwould face federal prosecution.
"The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law. Period. Full stop," DOJ spokesperson Anthony Coley said.
The statement came after comments from Biden following his arrival back at the White House Friday when he was asked what his message is for those who defy subpoenas from the Jan. 6 select committee.
"I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable," Biden said after returning from a trip to Connecticut.
When asked whether he thinks those individuals should be prosecuted by the Justice Department, Biden answered, "I do, yes."
Biden's comments came just a day after the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection announced it would meet next Tuesday toconsider criminal contempt proceedingsagainst Steve Bannon, a former Trump aide who has refused to comply with a subpoena seeking testimony and any communications he may have had with with the former president in the days around the storming of the Capitol.
As both a candidate and while in office, Biden has repeatedly pledged to put up a wall between the White House and the Justice Department on criminal matters that critics had argued had completely deteriorated during his predecessor's years - where Trump repeatedly called for the prosecutions of his political enemies and pressured officials to take actions they later said they resisted.
"Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral," the committee said in a statement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has similarly stated his desire to reinstate the department's independence from political matters.
Prior to their statement Friday seemingly pushing back against Biden's comments, the Justice Department has repeatedly declined to comment to ABC News on how it might act if and when the U.S. House votes for a criminal contempt referral stemming from a Jan. 6 committee witness declining to cooperate.
