The House Select Committee investigating the Jan 06 Capitol siege has advanced into asking telecom firms to save the phone records of some GOP House members. The request also includes the phone records of former President Donald Trump and his immediate family members. The purpose of which is to further determine their roles in the “Stop the Steal” rally that instigated the Jan. 06 Capitol insurrection.
It is still not clear how the committee will persuade the companies to cooperate as requesting information from members of the Congress can lead to a legal battle. To date, request letters have been sent to 35 different private-sector entities, including social media sites, email platforms and providers of telecommunication services.
Although the House Select Committee did not disclose which members of Congress are linked to the “Stop the Steal” rally, multiple sources have provided a partial list of names to CNN. Currently, the list includes Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jody Hice of Georgia, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina.
Not only do they have a connection to the rally, they are also some of Trump’s most loyal advocate in the Congress. Most of them continue to spread the former president’s false claims of being cheated in the Nov. 2020 election, after they voted against the election results.
It is emphasized in the list that it can be updated any time soon as the committee has been stepping up their investigation, which denotes that additional names could pop up.
Strong Negative Reactions Coming from Republicans Mentioned in the List
After CNN revealed the partial list, a number of Republicans have been reacting negatively to the committee’s latest investigation action. In a statement conveyed via CNN, Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that the requests are attempts launched by Democrats to smear their reputations and remove them from office including sending to jail the strongest Democratic oppositions. Rep Jim Jordan warned the committee that they request could lead to political retributions.