May 23, 2026policy changefederal records lawpresidential pardonsDOJ accountabilityJanuary 6 prosecutionsaccountabilityfederal recordsrule of law
DOJ scrubs its Jan. 6 prosecution database from its website
The Trump Justice Department removed hundreds of press releases on May 23, 2026, documenting charges and sentences against roughly 1,600 January 6 defendants from its official website. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal attorney — defended the deletion, with the DOJ calling the records "partisan propaganda." CREW argued the deletion violated the Federal Records Act, which requires agencies to notify the National Archives before removing federal records. The DC Circuit vacated the seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers leaders the same day.
Sources
Justice Department deletes press releases on charges against Jan. 6 riotersTrump's Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendantsDeletion of Jan 6 charges database appears to violate the lawJanuary 6 erasure: DOJ database, Trump historyJudges in Jan. 6 cases and watchdog groups recoil at Justice Department's deletion of records