The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas to five members of Congress on Thursday, writing the lawmakers in question have either “previously been invited to appear voluntarily before the committee because the committee has reason to believe that they have relevant knowledge” pertaining to the attack.
Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., issued subpoenas to GOP Reps. Kevin McCarthy, who is the House minority leader, and Scott Perry of California, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama to be deposed by the committee.
“The Select Committee has learned that several of our colleagues have information relevant to our investigation into the attack on January 6th and the events leading up to it,” Thompson wrote. “Before we hold our hearings next month, we wished to provide members the opportunity to discuss these matters with the committee voluntarily.
“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,” he added. “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.”
The extraordinary step has little precedent and is certain to further inflame partisan tensions over the 2021 attack. The subpoenas come as the investigation is winding down and as the panel prepares for a series of public hearings this summer.
The committee has been investigating McCarthy’s conversations with then-President Donald Trump the day of the attack and meetings that the four other lawmakers had with the White House as Trump and his aides conspired how to overturn his defeat. They have been debating for months over whether to issue the subpoenas.
Congressional subpoenas for sitting members of Congress, especially for a party leader, are almost without precedent in recent decades. The panel had previously asked for voluntary cooperation from the five men, along with a handful of other GOP lawmakers, but all of them refused to speak with the panel.
McCarthy has acknowledged that he spoke with Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, which happened 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.
McCarthy took to the House floor after the rioters were cleared and said in a forceful speech that Trump “bears responsibility” for the attack and that it was the “saddest day I have ever had” in Congress — even as he went on to join 138 other House Republicans in voting to reject the election results.
The GOP leader soon made up with Trump, though, visiting him in Florida and rallying House Republicans to vote against investigations of the attack.
