What was the House panel waiting for? The GOP is trying to run out the clock as they face questions about their involvement in the coup plot.
The House panel investigating the Jan 6 attack has issued 5 subpoenas for 5 House Republicans. All these 5 Republicans were previously asked to appear voluntarily, however, they immediately refused to do so. With these subpoenas, their testimony is due by this month’s end.
The subpoenas were issued for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, GOP Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry, Arizona’s Andy Biggs and Alabama’s Mo Brooks.
None have passed any comment on whether they will comply with the subpoenas.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, said in a statement, “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. 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.”
It’s a move unheard of- a congressional committee issuing subpoenas for their own members of Congress. This has for sure led to more friction between the Republicans, strongly against the investigation for obvious reasons and the committee, which comprises 7 Democrats and 2 Republicans.
One of these Republicans, Vice Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who was expelled by McCarthy and other GOP members, said in a statement, “We asked these five individuals to come in and speak with us and they refused, and they have an obligation. They have critically important information about the attack that we need for the investigation. It’s a reflection of how important and serious the investigation is and how grave the attack on the Capitol was.”
The House panel members discussed this months, whether to issue these unprecedented subpoenas. Thompson said that this was a process which required debates and discussion, however, when these members voluntarily refused to show up, the decision was reached.
As usual with their empty threats, House Republicans have already warned to launch some kind of probe into Democrats and in turn will issue subpoenas for them if they own the chamber next year. However, panel Democrat Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin shooed away these concerns saying, “Nothing’s more awkward than a violent insurrection where people died, so we’re trying to extricate ourselves from the politics of violence, insurrections and coups, and the way to get out of it is through the truth.”
The panel explained that they particularly want to speak to McCarthy about his private conversation with Trump and his employees around the time of the attack. Fortunately, some of these conversations are known through a series of leaked tapes.
McCarthy and the other Republicans claim that the news of subpoenas reached the media first. He said, “Look, my view on the committee has not changed. They’re not conducting legitimate investigation. It seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.”
Other than this, the panel wants to discuss with Jordan regarding his previous conversations with Trump. And for Perry, the panel wants to know about his help in positioning ex-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as an attorney general. For Brooks, the panel wants to know about his recent communication with Trump to get him back into the office. And for Biggs, the panel said they want to know his links to Jan 6. protestors, his previous conversations with state lawmakers about overturning the election results and reports of seeking out a presidential pardon. To these issued subpoenas, Biggs tweeted, “The Jan. 6 Committee’s subpoena is pure political theater.”