The bipartisan House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and former PresidentDonald Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results has subpoenaed five House Republicans — including Minority LeaderKevin McCarthy.
In astatement issued Thursday, Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson announced that the select committee had subpoenaed Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks.
The committee is seeking deposition testimony as part of its investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a group of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to formalize then President-electJoe Biden’s victory.
Thompson said in his statement that the committee had previously invited all five lawmakers to appear voluntarily, because it has “reason to believe that they have relevant knowledge of the events on or leading up to January 6th and activities related to the transfer of power.”
“Regrettably, the individuals receiving subpoenas today have refused and we’re forced to take this step to help ensure the committee uncovers facts concerning January 6th,” Thompson said. “We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done.”
In a letter sent to McCarthy, Thompson noted that he had “declined voluntary cooperation, and we are left with no choice but to issue you this subpoena.”
The committee said in its release that McCarthy was “in communication with President Trump before, during, and after the attack on January 6th … [and] also claimed to have had a discussion with the President in the immediate aftermath of the attack during which President Trump admitted some culpability for the attack.”
“I’m seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight,” McCarthy says in the clip, which was recorded Jan. 10, 2021, during a conversation between he and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. “From what I know of him — I mean, you guys know him too — do you think he would ever back away?”
Elsewhere in the clip, McCarthy can be heard saying, “I’ve had it with this guy,” speaking of Trump.
Rep. Mo Brooks was also subpoenaed and, as the committee said in its statement, spoke at the rally held immediately prior to the Capitol attack, “encouraging rioters to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass.’ "
The Committee said it also has evidence that Brooks’s staff “met with members of Vice President Pence’s staff before January 6th and conveyed the view that the Vice President does not have authority to unilaterally refuse to count certified electoral votes.”
The committee is now reportedlyfinalizing its witness listahead of public hearings that will begin in June.
source: people.com
