McCarthy: Don’t yield Jan. 6 records

GOP won’t forget, lawmaker threatens telecom, social media companies

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is threatening telecommunications and social media companies that comply with a request by the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, declaring that Republicans “will not forget” their actions.

McCarthy spoke with then-President Donald Trump on the day of the attack and is a potential witness in the select committee’s probe.

The panel on Monday asked 35 companies to retain phone records and other information related to the attack as it ramps up its investigation ahead of the return of Congress. Several of the companies indicated this week that they intend to comply with the panel’s requests, while only one so far has publicly said it will not do so.

“Adam Schiff, Bennie Thompson, and Nancy Pelosi’s attempts to strong-arm private companies to turn over individuals’ private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democrat politicians,” McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday night, referring to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, the chairman of the select committee and the House speaker.

“If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States,” McCarthy said. “If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law.”

It is not clear what law McCarthy is asserting the companies would be breaking if they comply with the panel’s request. McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Tim Mulvey, a spokesman for the select committee, said Wednesday that the panel “won’t be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation.”

“The Select Committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and attempt to overturn the results of last year’s election,” Mulvey said in a statement. “We’ve asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people.”

Mike Stern, a former lawyer for the nonpartisan House counsel office, said there are probably laws that bar phone carriers and other companies from turning over records voluntarily. But, if a subpoena is issued, those companies would be legally obligated to respond.

Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts, meanwhile, accused McCarthy on Wednesday of trying to obstruct justice by threatening the companies.

“Every day we enter new uncharted territory,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., said in a statement. “Last night, the House Republican leader openly threatened subpoenaed parties to undermine and impede the historic probe into January 6. His threats are treasonous.”

Pelosi in June announced the formation of a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, after Senate Republicans blocked an effort to form an independent, bipartisan commission. McCarthy opposed both the bipartisan commission and the select committee.

The panel is charged with investigating the facts and causes of the insurrection and will provide recommendations to help prevent similar attacks in the future.

The panel is asking the 35 companies to preserve “metadata, subscriber information, technical usage information, and content of communications for the listed individuals.”

A spokesperson for the Switzerland-based Proton Technologies, the parent company behind the encrypted email service ProtonMail, said it could not comply with the request due to Swiss blocking laws that restrict the sharing of evidence from the country with foreign authorities.

Spokesmen for Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter declined to comment. Spokesmen for several other companies did not respond to requests for comment.