Jan. 6 call for key Republican
House Minority Leader McCarthy, 4 other Don allies subpoenaed
The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol Thursday slapped subpoenas on GOP House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy and four allies of former President Donald Trump.
The decision to require McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama to testify is a dramatic and controversial move by the panel, which has already interviewed nearly 1,000 witnesses and collected more than 100,000 documents as it investigates the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries.
“We’re forced to take this step to ensure the committee uncovers the facts concerning Jan. 6,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee’s chairman.
After the announcement, McCarthy, who has plans to become the next House speaker after the midterm elections, told reporters “I have not seen a subpoena” and said his view on the Jan. 6 committee has not changed since the panel asked for his voluntary cooperation earlier this year.
“They’re not conducting a legitimate investigation,” McCarthy said. “Seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.”
Similarly, Perry told reporters the investigation is a “charade” and said the subpoena is “all about headlines.
The panel, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, had previously asked for voluntary cooperation from the five lawmakers, along with a handful of other GOP members, but all of them refused to speak with the panel, which debated for months whether to issue the subpoenas.
“Before we hold our hearings next month, we wished to provide members the opportunity to discuss these matters with the committee voluntarily,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democratic chairman of the panel. “Regrettably, the individuals receiving subpoenas today have refused and we’re forced to take this step to help ensure the committee uncovers facts concerning Jan. 6.”
In announcing the subpoenas, the panel said there is historical precedent for the move and noted that the House Ethics Committee has “issued a number of subpoenas to members of Congress for testimony or documents,” though such actions are generally done secretly.
“We recognize this is fairly unprecedented,” said Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the other GOP member of the panel, after the committee announced the subpoenas. “But the Jan. 6 attack was very unprecedented.
Kinzinger said it is “important for us to get every piece of information we possibly can.”
McCarthy has acknowledged he spoke with Trump on Jan. 6 as Trump’s supporters were beating police outside the Capitol and forcing their way into the building. But he has not shared many details. The committee requested information about his conversations with Trump “before, during and after” the riot.
Hundreds of former White House and congressional aides have willingly cooperated with the panel’s probe, including staunch Trump loyalists and even the ex-president’s own son, daughter and son-in-law.
The committee, which includes anti-Trump Republican Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), is wrapping up its probe and plans a series of public hearings starting June 9, including some in prime time.