Defense Attorney Accuses Jan. 6 Committee of Manipulating Public Opinion ‘Rather Than Collecting Facts’ on Ray Epps

"It could be taken as witness tampering. I’m very concerned about it.”

(L-R) Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the select committee investigating the events on Jan. 6 at the Capitol, speaks as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) listen during a committee meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 1, 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Jan. 6 committee’s announcement that it has cleared Ray Epps of being an FBI informant during the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is an effort to “manipulate public opinion rather than collect facts,” an attorney representing a Jan. 6 defendant said on Jan. 12.

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol announced on Twitter that it had met with Epps, who “informed us that he was not employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on Jan 5th or 6th or at any other time.”