Panel demands records of Trump’s movements
WASHINGTON — The select committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot demanded detailed records on Wednesday about Donald Trump’s every movement and meeting on the day of the assault, in a series of requests to federal agencies that suggested it was focusing on any ties the former president may have had to the attack’s planning or execution.
The committee’s demands, sent to the National Archives and Records Administration and six other agencies, show investigators are looking closely at efforts by the former president to overturn the results of the 2020 election and any connections he or his administration had to the rioters.
They are also looking into the potential involvement of at least one top aide to a Republican member of Congress who helped publicize the “Stop the Steal” rallies, which drew Mr. Trump’s supporters to Washington on Jan. 6 to protest the election outcome.
The panel sought communications among top Trump administration officials about attempts to place politically loyal personnel in senior positions
as Mr. Trump sought to invalidate President Joe Biden’s victory in the runup to the attack. Investigators are also focused on the planning, organization and funding of pro-Trump rallies on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 and other attempts to stop or slow the process of Mr. Trump handing over the
presidency to Mr. Biden.
“OurConstitution provides for a peaceful transfer of power, and this investigation seeks to evaluate threats to that process, identify lessons learned and recommend laws, policies, procedures, rules or regulations necessary to protect our Republic in the future,”Rep.
Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee chair, wrote in the letters.
The committee asked the National Archives, which keeps presidential records, for material it has about any plans hatched from within the White House or other federal agencies to derail the Electoral
College vote count by Congress.
From the Defense Department and the Justice Department, the committee asked for records of discussions about potentially invoking the Insurrection Act, which some feared Mr. Trump might use to deploy the military to cling to power; communications between government entities during the Capitol violence; and exchanges between the Justice Department and Mr. Trump’s campaign legal team about challenges to the election’s outcome.
The committee called on the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to furnish records of intelligence gathered before the assault, documents about the Secret Service’s protection of Mr. Pence and his family, and records tracking the spread and source of online disinformation about the election.
The panel also sought information from the Interior Department about permits for the rallies that preceded the mob violence and communications with the U.S. Park Police as the attack escalated. And it requested information from the National Counterterrorism Center about briefing materials prepared for senior officials before Jan. 6.