Treasury Department worker lied to investigators, inspector general says.
A U.S. government employee violated the law on Jan. 6, 2021, but was not prosecuted, according to an internal report obtained by The Epoch Times.
Investigators with the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Inspector General (OIG), acting on a tip from the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general, found that an OIG worker was on U.S. Capitol grounds as the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.
The employee admitted during an interview with the OIG to being near the Capitol but made a number of false claims, including that he did not witness any violence and did not do anything illegal, according to the OIG.
There was “widespread unlawful behavior” happening around the Capitol when the worker was on Capitol grounds, the report stated. Video footage showed that people gained unauthorized access to areas past barricades at about 1:45 p.m., the same time that the Treasury employee later admitted to walking through a U.S. Capitol Police barricade at the East Plaza.
The worker stayed on the grounds, moving to the West Plaza, for about two hours. During that time, he said later, he saw clashes between the Capitol Police and protesters. Video footage from the scene showed law enforcement officers retreating, protesters becoming violent, and barricades lying on the ground.
The Treasury Department worker was not identified by name.
The official went onto restricted grounds “without lawful authority,” according to the report, which summarized the investigation and was first obtained by Bloomberg News.
“The investigation determined that the employee went through an U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) barricade and remained inside the restricted grounds for approximately two hours during the riot at the U.S. Capitol, in violation of restricted grounds or buildings and conduct while on government property,” the watchdog said. “The OIG substantiated this allegation after conducting interviews, reviewing records and conducting open source research. The employee admitted that he went through a barricade and remained inside the barricaded areas for an extended period of time.”
It also said that “the OIG also substantiated lack of candor.”
