NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Department of Justice leaders criticized the Biden administration for failing to achieve what they accomplished on Thursday — arresting a suspect in connection with the pipe bombs found near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr. that existing evidence led to the FBI’s breakthrough in a cold case that had “languished” for nearly five years.
“What I will tell you is that evidence has been sitting there collecting dust,” Bondi said. “This wasn’t a new tip. It wasn’t some new evidence. It was the hard work of President Trump’s administration.”
Bondi said federal investigators were able to identify Cole after spending months “sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration.” She said that bringing charges against Cole was not a result of any new witnesses or leads but rather “good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work.”
FBI ARRESTS SUSPECT IN DC PIPE BOMB CASE AFTER 5-YEAR INVESTIGATION
Court papers unsealed Thursday revealed that bank records showing purchases of the pipe bomb material and cell phone tower data were used to identify Cole. The suspect is now in custody facing charges of using explosives, with more charges possible, and he is expected to make his first court appearance Friday.
Surveillance footage released by the FBI showed an unidentified suspect in a hoodie planting two explosive devices near the Republican and Democratic National Committees’ headquarters on the night of Jan. 5, 2021. Authorities said the devices were “viable” and could have detonated. The first one was discovered by a woman out in an alleyway doing her laundry, investigative reports said. She immediately reported her finding to the police, spurring a search that led to the discovery of the second bomb, the reports said.
A congressional report revealed that the FBI during the Biden administration began “diverting resources” away from the investigation at the end of February 2021, after less than two months.
“In the immediate aftermath of January 6, the FBI’s case team worked aggressively to cultivate and pursue leads toward apprehending the pipe bomb suspect,” the report stated, but added that the inquiry might have fizzled out because of a lack of credible leads.
The years-long mystery left many in Trump’s base raising questions and theories about the case. Speculation centered on the discovery of the bombs timing up with the riot on Jan. 6 and the security failures that allowed top politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to unwittingly come into proximity with the explosives.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was among the top voices promoting the theory, before he joined the bureau, that the Biden administration was hiding evidence about the case and that planting the bombs was an “inside job.” DOJ leaders have given no information on the suspect’s motive and said the investigation is in an early stage.
FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR CLAIMS BUREAU ‘CLOSING IN’ ON SUSPECTS WHO PLANTED JAN. 6 PIPE BOMBS
At the press conference, Bongino said he made the pipe bomb case a top priority, a remark that comes after he told Fox News in May that the bureau was “closing in” on suspects.
“I spoke with Ms. Bondi very early, maybe day two, and I said, ‘We’re going to get this guy.’ She said, ‘Yes, you are.’ And we did,” Bongino said Thursday.
“You’re not going to walk into our capital city, put down two explosive devices and walk off in the sunset. Not going to happen,” Bongino said, adding, “There was no way he was getting away.”
