Reps. Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy were among five House Republicans subpoenaed to testify by the 1/6 Committee.
The Committee laid out why they want to speak to the five House Republicans:
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was in communication with President Trump before, during, and after the attack on January 6th. Mr. McCarthy was also in communication with other members of the White House staff during the attack and in the days before and after January 6th concerning the events at the Capitol. Mr. McCarthy 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.
Representative Scott Perry was directly involved with efforts to corrupt the Department of Justice and install Jeffrey Clark as acting Attorney General. In addition, Mr. Perry had various communications with the White House about a number of matters relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation, including allegations that Dominion voting machines had been corrupted.
Representative Jim Jordan was in communication with President Trump on January 6th and participated in meetings and discussions throughout late 2020 and early 2021 about strategies for overturning the 2020 election.
Representative Andy Biggs participated in meetings to plan various aspects of January 6th and was involved with plans to bring protestors to Washington for the counting of Electoral College votes. Mr. Biggs was involved in efforts to persuade state officials that the 2020 was stolen. Additionally, former White House personnel identified Mr. Biggs as potentially being involved in an effort to seek a presidential pardon for activities connected with the former President’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Representative Mo Brooks spoke at the rally on January 6th, encouraging rioters to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” In addition, Mr. Brooks has publicly described conversations in which the former President urged him to work to “rescind the election of 2020” and reinstall Mr. Trump as President. The Select Committee also has evidence that Mr. 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.
Each of these members was in communication with Trump, and the Committee alleges that four of the five were involved in the planning of Trump’s coup to overthrow the government.
The Committee cited past precedent for subpoenaing members.
Kevin McCarthy has refused to say if he would comply with a subpoena:
Kevin McCarthy completely dodges a question about whether or not he will comply with a subpoena from the 1/6 Committee. pic.twitter.com/07IzkL6uSq
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 23, 2021
Jim Jordan has said that he will refuse to comply with any 1/6 Committee subpoena.
The committee’s hearings don’t begin until next month, so there is plenty of time for a criminal referral if the Republicans refuse to comply.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association