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The House select committee on Jan. 6 filed subpoenas Thursday against several Republican congressmen who have refused to cooperate with the investigation, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The subpoenas also hit Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Texas, Mo Brooks, R-Ala., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Scott Perry, R-Ohio. The committee is tasked with investigating the events leading up to and during the storming of the U.S. Capitol in early 2021. Chairman Bennie Thompson says his committee requested voluntary testimony from each of the congressmen prior to filing the subpoenas.
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“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,” Committee chairman Bennie Thompson D-Miss said in a statement. “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.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) attend a news conference on July 21, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“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,” he added.
McCarthy told reporters Thursday that he has yet to see the subpoena, and he did not say whether he would comply with the subpoena.
“Look, my view on the committee has not changed,” he said minutes after the subpoenas came down. “They’re not conducting a legitimate investigation. That seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents”
The subpoenas for sitting lawmakers are an extraordinary move because the Constitution gives the House and Senate the right to discipline its own members. If the lawmakers don’t comply with the subpoena, the House could potentially vote to hold those members in contempt and refer them to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
McCarthy and Jordan both brushed off requests to testify before the committee in January, with McCarthy saying the committee was abusing its power and Jordan saying he had no relevant information to offer.
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Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., center, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., makes a statement as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack meets at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, also weighed in to condemn the subpoenas, saying the J6 committee was conducting a partisan “witch hunt.”
“This is a political witch hunt,” Stefanik, the House Republican Conference Chair, told Fox News Digital. “The only office that has been off limits is Nancy Pelosi’s office. How dare they go after other members when she herself has refused to share records of her knowledge and her refusal of any communications with the Capitol Police in the days leading up to January 6.
“The Speaker of the House is responsible for the security of the Capitol, and they are hiding those records from the American people. So this is a political witch hunt,” she added.
The committee formally requested testimony from Reps Biggs, Brooks and Ronny Jackson R-Texas last week. Each of the congressmen reportedly communicated with former President Donald Trump about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. They also spoke with Trump about planning rallies and protests in the lead-up to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the committee.
Biggs dismissed the request, however, saying the committee is “illegitimate.”
The subpoenas come weeks after former first daughter and White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump testified before the committee. Her husband, former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, also testified. They are the highest-level Trump administration officials to cooperate with the committee so far.
The committee is tasked with investigating the events that led to the pro-Trump storming of the U.S. Capitol in early 2021. Members have sought testimony more recently to shine a light on a 7.5-hour gap in White House phone records on Jan. 6.
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The gap ran from 11:17 a.m. ET to 6:54 p.m. ET on the day of the riots, essentially encompassing the event.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.