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House Judiciary to investigate ‘selective prosecution’ of journalist Steve Baker, ‘disfavored’ J6 defendants

March 13, 2024 | | Print Article

The arrest and persecution of an investigative journalist and other January 6 defendants is now reportedly part of a Congressional investigation.

The House Judiciary Committee is turning attention to the U.S. Department of Justice’s arrest of The Blaze journalist Steve Baker who covered the events that unfolded Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan fired off a blistering letter to Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, on Tuesday, calling out the “selective prosecution” of Baker, who was arrested on March 1, “as well as the Department’s commitments to the First Amendment rights of journalists.”

Jordan brought up his “serious concerns” over the DOJ’s handling of Baker and others, citing the reporter’s attorney who said other journalists in the Capitol on Jan. 6 have never been charged while Baker has been singled out after being “critical of the Department’s handling of the January 6 investigations and prosecutions.”

Baker’s attorney noted that the DOJ “is not allowed to decide what press coverage it likes and what press coverage offends it and take prosecutorial action based on those judgments.”

“Beyond charging Mr. Baker, it appears that the Department deviated from practice and formally arrested Mr. Baker when he voluntarily surrendered,” Jordan charged in his letter, going on to recount how, despite the DOJ’s negotiations with Baker’s attorney on his appearance in court, and assurances that he would not be detained before a trial, the department reneged.

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The DOJ “subjected him to formal arrest — that is, the FBI fingerprinted, photographed, handcuffed, and placed Mr. Baker in the back of an FBI vehicle, transported him to the courthouse, and brought him before the magistrate judge in a ‘belly chain, box cuffs, and leg shackles,'” the letter states.

Citing Baker’s attorney, a former federal prosecutor, Jordan noted that he expressed surprise over the turn of events, saying that in his long career with the DOJ, he never saw “in an initial appearance on misdemeanor charges where the defendant was told first to report to the FBI…before going to the courthouse.”

“This conduct smacks of harassment and selective treatment for a disfavored criminal defendant,” Jordan’s letter continued.

The GOP chairman wrote that it seems the DOJ violated its “mission of equal justice under the law” and that its conduct “criminalizes politics and weaponizes the administration of justice.”

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In a statement to Blaze News on Tuesday, Baker thanked Jordan and independent journalist Breanna Morello who posted news of the letter online.

“Breanna Morello’s advocacy for the innocent and the overcharged, over-persecuted January 6 defendants is tireless and without peer. What we see from her publicly is only a fraction of what she does behind the scenes,” Baker said.

“I want to thank Rep. Jim Jordan for not only recognizing my struggle but also for demanding full transparency in the DOJ’s prosecution of all J6 cases,” Baker said. “I’m blessed by the platform I’ve been given, but I intend to use this attention to shine a light on all those who have been unfairly treated by the unprecedented weaponization of the DOJ, their double standards, and the selective prosecution being wielded against J6 defendants.”

Frieda Powers
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