WASHINGTON – A House of Representatives committee investigating the Capitol attack on Jan. 6 sent letters Monday seeking interviews with three Republicans, members of Congress, and the committee said it had gathered evidence that some Republicans in the House of Representatives had asked for clemency. of the President after the violence that engulfed the Capitol.
The commission wants interviews with the representative of Andy Biggs of Arizona, a former leader of the ultra-conservative Parliament for Freedom; Alabama spokesman Mo Brooks, who said former President Donald J. Trump has continued to seek reinstatement; and Texas Representative Ronnie Jackson, a former Trump doctor at the White House.
In a letter to Mr. Biggs, committee leaders wrote that they wanted to question him for evidence they had received about efforts by some Republicans in the House of Representatives to seek pardon for the president after Jan. 6 in connection with Mr. Trump’s efforts to cancel the elections in 2020.
“Your name has been identified as a potential participant in this effort,” Miss Ben Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, and Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, and committee leaders wrote to Mr. Biggs. “We would like to know all the details of the pardon application, the specific reasons why the pardon was requested and the scope of the proposed pardon.
The Commission also stated that it wanted to interview Mr Biggs for a meeting on 21 December 2020, which he attended at the White House with several other members of the Freedom Group. There, the discussion included a plan in which former Vice President Mike Pence will unilaterally refuse to count the certified electoral votes of certain states on January 6.
Investigators said they also had evidence of Mr Biggs’ efforts to persuade US lawmakers to join Mr Trump’s efforts to cancel the 2020 election.
The commission also wants to question Mr Biggs about Ali Alexander, a prominent organizer of so-called Stop the Steal rallies with links to far-right members of Congress trying to annul the 2020 election results. Mr Alexander said he , along with Mr. Biggs, Mr. Brooks and Arizona Representative Paul Gossar, set in motion the events of January 6th.
“The four of us planned to put maximum pressure on Congress while they voted,” Mr Alexander said in a subsequently deleted video posted online. He added that even if they could not lobby lawmakers, “we could change the hearts and minds of Republicans who were in this body by hearing our loud roar from outside.”
The committee described Mr Alexander as “an early and aggressive supporter of the Stop the Steal movement, which called for violence before 6 January”.
“We would like to know exactly what you knew before the January 6 violence about the goals, planning, and expectations of the Capitol campaign,” Mr. Thompson and Ms. Cheney wrote to Mr. Biggs.
Mr. Brooks, who wore a bulletproof vest to the stage the other day when he told the crowd to “start taking names and kicking ass,” and Mr. Biggs, who provided a video message to Mr. Alexander to play at a rally on the 19th. December, refused to coordinate the planning of the event with Mr. Alexander.
The panel wants to question Mr Brooks about statements he made in March alleging that Mr Trump had repeatedly asked him in the post-election months to “illegally” annul the results, remove President Biden and call special elections. .
Mr Brooks said Mr Trump had made his request repeatedly since 1 September 2021. He said the former president had not specified exactly how Congress could reinstall him and that Mr Brooks had repeatedly told him that is impossible.
“I told President Trump that the ‘cancellation’ of the 2020 elections was not a legal option. That’s the point, “said Mr Brooks.
Investigators said they had questions about Mr Jackson, a former White House doctor who is now a member of Congress, as to why he was mentioned in encrypted messages from the Bands of Guardians militia group, some of whose members have been charged in connection with the attack. . In the reports, police officers appear to have Mr Jackson’s mobile phone and say he is “on the move” and “needs protection” as the violence continues.
Oath Keepers members, including its leader, Stuart Rhodes, exchanged encrypted messages, asking members to personally provide security to Mr Jackson, suggesting he had “critical data to protect”, according to federal prosecutors.
“Why would these people be interested in your particular location?” Why would they believe that “you have critical data to defend”? “Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Cheney wrote to Mr. Jackson. “Why direct their members to protect your personal safety?” Who did you talk to on your cell phone the other day? “
On January 6, Mr. Jackson posted photos of Mr. Trump’s rally on the Ellipse prior to the violence and posted on Twitter: “American Patriots Have a Back, Mr. President! We will fight for YOU and we will fight for OUR Country !! ”
Mr Thompson and Ms Cheney wrote to Mr Jackson: “We would like to discuss how and when you returned from the Ellipse to the Capitol, as well as the contacts you had with the participants in the rally or the subsequent march from the Ellipse to the Capitol. The Capitol. ”
In statements, Mr Biggs and Mr Jackson called the committee “illegitimate” and said they would not agree to an interview. Mr Brooks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Consequences of Capitol Riot: Key Developments
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Weighing the changes in the Uprising Act. On January 6, some members of the House of Representatives committee began discussions on rewriting the Uprising Act in response to the events that led to the Capitol riot. The law now gives presidents the power to deploy the military to respond to riots, and some fear it could be abused by a president trying to incite a riot.
“The committee has been fake since the beginning,” Mr Biggs said. “His whole goal is to destroy President Trump and his supporters, intimidate members of Congress and distract Americans from the real problems that are destroying this country. The committee works with the same kind of bias that is present in the Salem witch trials. Everyone is guilty and must prove their innocence. “
Mr. Jackson denied being in contact with members of the Guardians of the Oath.
“I do not know or have been in contact with those who exchanged text messages about me on January 6,” Mr Jackson said. “In fact, I was proud to help protect the house from those who posed a threat to my colleagues. The witch hunt against me on the committee is nothing more than a coordinated attempt to do the work of the media for taxpayers’ money.
So far, the committee has chosen not to issue subpoenas for the testimony of members of Congress, citing “the committee’s exclusive respect for the prerogatives of Congress and the privacy of its members.”
“At the same time, we have a solemn responsibility to fully investigate the facts and circumstances of these events,” wrote Mr. Thompson and Ms. Cheney.
The panel has already sought interviews with Republican Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader; Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio; and Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
Each of them refused to meet with the commission’s investigators.
The panel has questioned more than 935 witnesses so far.
The letters to members of Congress came after the committee won a court victory late Sunday against the Republican National Committee, which tried to block a summons to a provider, Salesforce.com.
The panel is investigating how Mr. Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party raised hundreds of millions of dollars from donors while making the false claim that the election was stolen, and a federal judge ruled that investigators could obtain marketing email from the Republican National Committee.
The commission is planning a series of public hearings in June to reveal its findings. Mr Thompson said eight hearings would be held over several weeks, starting on June 9, some in prime time in an attempt to attract a large television audience.
Alan Foyer contributed to the reports.
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