Text messages released by the Senate Judiciary Committee show two former federal prosecutors discussing desires to prosecute nuns during investigations of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Joseph Cooney and Molly Gaston, career prosecutors at the Justice Department rather than political appointees, played a role in prosecuting President Donald Trump during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Both were fired shortly after Trump became president a second time and are legal partners at Gaston & Cooney PLLC. Cooney is running for Congress in Virginia.
While texting on government-issued devices, Gaston wrote about a photo published by The New York Times from Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, which preceded the Jan. 6 attack, saying: “I just noticed for the first time the nuns near the oathkeepers in one of the NYT photographs.”
Cooney said, “I know!” to which Gaston replied: “I would like to take a special assignment of finding and prosecuting them.”
Cooney, who worked in the Justice Departmentʼs Public Integrity Section, responded to her comments about prosecuting the women by saying “I’m with you” and adding: “Although Iʼd like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit.” Gaston, who was a lead prosecutor in the
