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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 27: Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-MS, speaks during a hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021 at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. Members of law enforcement testified about the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol. According to authorities, about 140 police officers were injured when they were trampled, had objects thrown at them, and sprayed with chemical irritants during the insurrection.
The House Select Committee responsible for investigating the Capitol Hill riot on January 6 has recently demanded to acquire records from several United States agencies as it attempts to determine whether security failures and attempts to overturn the 2020 election results were factors in the incident.
The request follows the calls of other House committees in previous times in an attempt to look into the January 6 attack further. It also broadens the search to other areas and individuals outside the government.
Capitol Hill Attack Investigation
The select committee is targeting records from the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Archives. The last of which was responsible for storing the White House records of the Trump administration, CNN reported.
The list of agencies being asked to hand over records is long and varied and includes attempts to get information of carrying out or defying then-President Donald Trump's orders. It is also believed that the attack may have been caused by invoking the insurrection act, martial law, or the 25th Amendment.
The investigation also wishes to know more about communications between members of the Trump White House, his campaign, rally organizers, and alleged members of far-right extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
The select committee is looking into at least 30 members of former President Trump's inner circle and their involvement in the Capitol Hill attack. The letters asking for the records were signed by Select Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson. He gave the agencies a deadline of Sept. 9 to meet the demands of the letters. Failure to do so could mean subpoenas for the information, CNBC reported.
National Archives Involvement
The National Archives and Records Administration received the longest letter as it was the one maintaining and storing White House communication records. The documents that Thompson's bipartisan committee is seeking to obtain are those that include information from weeks leading up to the brutal assault on Capitol Hill.
The request for the agencies' records marks the latest attempt by the committee to discover information that former President Trump preferred to keep secret. While the Republican distanced himself from the riot, he privately supported the attackers, by refusing to call them off for hours during the incident itself and offering thinly veiled praise for them.
Thompson's letter to the National Archives head, David S. Ferriero wrote, "Given the urgent nature of our request, we ask that you expedite your consultation and processing times. We have some concern about the delay in producing documents requested this past March, and we want to assist your prompt production of materials."
The letter asks staff from the National Archives to meet with members of the select committee to "discuss production priorities." The committee is asking the agency for documents, call logs, visitor logs, and other forms of potential evidence. They also include lists of names of persons of interest from both inside and outside the Trump administration, Yahoo News reported.
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