House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is instructing the Jan 6. committee to keep all records, transcripts, and other evidence on file for the new Republican majority.
McCarthy said in a letter to Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) that the records need to be maintained for the sake of transparency and that they could be of use to Republicans as they begin investigating why the Capitol wasn’t secure the day of the riot.
The request follows accusations that the political aims of committee members, especially outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), colored the evidence selected for public presentation in the hearings and upcoming final report.
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“It is imperative that all information collected be preserved not just for institutional prerogatives but for transparency to the American people,” McCarthy wrote in the Wednesday letter. “The official Congressional Records do not belong to you or any member, but to the American people, and they are owed all of the information you gathered — not merely the information that comports with your political agenda. … The American people have a right to know that the allegations you have made are supported by the facts.”
The Washington Post reported last week that committee staffers are upset that the final report will allegedly focus almost entirely on former President Donald Trump’s role in the riot and won’t highlight investigations into why law enforcement and the intelligence agencies weren’t prepared for the attack. Work by another team focused on the role of extremist organizations was also allegedly mostly left out. Cheney’s office and the committee strongly pushed back on the anonymous staffers’ accusations.
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McCarthy is laying the groundwork for the House GOP’s investigative priorities ahead of the new session of Congress that begins on Jan. 3. Though currently the only Republican candidate for speaker of the House, he may not secure the gavel after several GOP lawmakers have vowed to vote against him.
