David Sklansky, law professor and co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said the Department of Justice and Congress need to act where there is evidence regardless of if their decisions on whether to prosecute will change the tenor of politics.

“Justice can’t be subjected to partisan veto. So, the fact that one party is objecting to the prosecutions, it can’t be a reason to hold off,” Sklansky said. “The rule of law depends on the notion that everybody is subject to the rule of law, including members of the executive branch. We don’t have kings, royalty in this country and it’s important that criminal prosecutions be able to reach not just ordinary people, not just the people who rioted, but the people who were in fancy suites in Washington, D.C., orchestrating and inciting the riots, and people who were in the White House.”

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Sklansky doesn’t see Jan. 6 as the event that will spark a political reckoning and bridging of the partisan divide, noting the GOP’s continued embrace of Trump and repudiation of his critics, including Congresswoman Cheney.

“I think there were signs it appeared to be happening in the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, but the Republican Party largely made a choice,” Sklansky said.