Aug 23, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Jan. 6 committee seeking lawmaker phone records

Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson

Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Jan. 6 select committee, said Monday that the committee will ask telecommunications companies to turn over the phone records of several hundred people, including members of Congress.

Why it matters: Preserving these records is a first step to procuring witnesses to testify before the select committee, per CNN, which first reported Thompson's comments.

The big picture: The committee will seek records from telecom companies and social media platforms as part of their investigation into the events of Jan. 6.

  • "We have quite an exhaustive list of people," Thompson said when asked whether any family member or former Trump associates were on the list of people whose records are being sought.
  • “I won’t tell you who they are, but it’s several hundred people that make up the list of individuals we plan to contact," he added.
  • Issuing subpoenas "is not the first thing we have to do," Thompson said, adding that "we’ll do what’s required to get the information."

State of play: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) has previously voiced support for issuing subpoenas to Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

  • Jordan has admitted to speaking to former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 but maintains that he has "nothing to hide," according to CNN.
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