President Donald Trump supporters occupy the West Front of the Capitol and the inauguration stands on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In December, and after the release of Horowitz’s report, Grassley, R-Iowa, and Johnson, R-Wis., demanded information on whether confidential human sources from DOJ agencies beyond the FBI were used on Jan. 6, 2021.
In an April 7 letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, Horowitz notified the senators that he found no evidence the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or the Bureau of Prisons deployed confidential human sources to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
"We can confirm that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not have any undercover employees in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6," Horowitz wrote in his response. "This includes in or around the Capitol or in the restricted area of the Capitol."
"We can also confirm that the ATF, DEA, USMS, and BOP did not have any tasked CHSs in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6," Horowitz continued. "This includes in or around the Capitol or in the restricted area of the Capitol."
However, Horowitz could not conclusively say whether any of those agencies had "untasked" confidential human sources – or those who traveled on their own initiative – present on Jan. 6, 2021.
"With respect to whether any DOJ law enforcement components other than the FBI had untasked CHSs in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6, unlike the FBI, we have no information at this time as to whether the ATF, DEA, USMS, or BOP conducted a post-January 6 canvass to determine if any of their CHSs traveled on their own initiative (untasked) to D.C. in connection with the January 6 events," Horowitz wrote.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seen during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. ( Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Horowitz said he obtained emails documenting the FBI’s Washington Field Office communications with CHS handlers of the tasked CHSs, and emails of CHS handling agents of "untasked" CHSs who contacted the Washington Field Office during the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
"We flagged certain additional documents to be produced, including 1023s, documentation of unauthorized illegal activity (which generated a negative response), approvals for the tasked CHSs, and some underlying text messages and photographs referenced in 1023s, including text messages sent and shared between CHSs and their handlers," Horowitz wrote, adding that he also obtained instant messages from the FBI’s classified and unclassified communication platforms.
DOJ IG REVEALS 26 FBI INFORMANTS WERE PRESENT ON JAN. 6
"As with all reviews, we sought the information that was most relevant to our review, one aspect of which was to confirm that no FBI handling agent, FBI Headquarters personnel, or WFO personnel authorized any CHS to engage in illegal activity on January 6, 2021," Horowitz stressed. "Given this scope, and the fact that the OIG did not receive any information indicating that any individual handling agent had inappropriate communications with a CHS, the OIG requested and reviewed relevant text messages between handling agents and CHSs, but did not request all of the text messages for all of the 26 CHSs and their handlers."
President Donald Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier on Jan. 6, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
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"It’s well past time the American people received complete transparency and clarity regarding the full extent of the Justice Department and its component agencies’ involvement in the events of J6," Grassley and Johnson told Fox News Digital in a joint statement. "Inspector General Horowitz must be thorough in his approach and shed light on every corner of the department he oversees."
Grassley and Johnson added, "We expect Horowitz to bring finality to this investigation by fully complying with our requests."
A spokesperson for Horowitz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/grassley-johnson-press-doj-ig-respond-whether-untasked-undercover-agents-were-present-jan-6