Three Senate Democrats have called for the termination of Jared Wise, a senior adviser at the US Department of Justice who urged fellow rioters to kill police officers during the 2021 Capitol attack. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senators Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse and Adam Schiff condemned the hiring as a 'shameless' politicisation of the department.
Wise, a former FBI agent, was charged with two felonies and four misdemeanours after he referred to police as 'Nazis' and 'Gestapo' on January 6, 2021. According to an FBI affidavit, as violence broke out he shouted 'Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!' His trial was underway when Donald Trump took office and halted all prosecutions related to the insurrection, later issuing sweeping pardons.
Earlier this year, Wise was appointed as a counselor to Ed Martin, a prominent January 6 defence lawyer who now leads a so-called weaponization working group within the justice department. The scope of Wise’s role remains unclear, but Democrats have demanded a full explanation of his duties, security clearance and relationship with Martin.
The letter urges Bondi to provide details of the hiring process and 'immediate termination' of Wise, arguing that his continued employment undermines public trust. The justice department did not respond to a request for comment.
Wise’s appointment is among the most brazen efforts by the Trump administration to rewrite the history of January 6. Beyond pardons, the administration has demoted or fired career prosecutors who worked on the cases, agreed to grant military funeral honours to rioter Ashli Babbitt, and reportedly considered a compensation panel for those involved in the attack.
