Who is BJay Pak, the former US attorney testifying on Jan. 6

Former Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak will testify on Monday during the Jan. 6 committee’s second public hearing, the committee announced on Sunday. 

Pak was appointed to his former role by Trump in 2017 before he abruptly left his position in January 2021, just days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Pak called his role “the greatest honor of my professional career,” but in an internal memo said his departure had been the result of “unforeseen circumstances.”

A top Department of Justice official reportedly called Pak on Jan. 3 at the White House’s request and told him Trump was angry at a lack of investigation into voter fraud allegations.

Reports have since indicated that Pak left because he found out Trump intended to fire him amid broader shakeups of the DOJ, trump–georgia-election-testimony/index.html”>CNN reported.

Georgia was central to Trump’s effort to overturn the election results, and Pak’s resignation came just days after Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” him enough votes to overturn the election results. 

“Atlanta, Atlanta, no surprise there. They didn’t find anything. No surprise because we have a never-Trumper there as U.S. Attorney,” Trump reportedly said, referencing Pak.

A Senate Judiciary Committee review of Trump’s efforts at the Justice Department concluded last October that “Pak’s office had investigated and debunked various allegations of election fraud in Georgia.”

Pak was the first Korean American to become a U.S. attorney. Previously, he served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017 and did not seek reelection in 2016.

In addition to Pak, Monday morning’s hearing will include testimony from former Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt, former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, election attorney Benjamin Ginsberg, and former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, the committee announced on Sunday.