President Donald Trump said the Jan 6 committee overseeing the investigation of the Capitol riot has illegally destroyed their documents and records.
On Tuesday, Trump slammed the Jan 6 committee on Truth Social:
“So now that I have full Subpoena Power because of the Freedom of Speech Sham Indictment by Crooked Joe Biden, Deranged Jack Smith, and the DOJ, it has just been reported that the Unselect January 6th Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs has illegally destroyed their Records and Documents. This is unthinkable, and the Fake Political Indictment against me must be immediately withdrawn. The system is Rigged & Corrupt, very much like the Presidential Election of 2020. We are a Nation in Decline!”
Recently, Dr. Jan Halper-Hayes, said special counsel Jack Smith made a huge mistake in indicting Trump because it now gives him the power to subpoena people.
“They’ve made a huge mistake with this one because even though we thought what was going to happen was they were going to go after him for treason or sedition, they did criminally charge him, but they didn’t go to that extreme. As a result, he has due process, so he can subpoena people and bring things in,” she said.
Trump was hit with four counts in the January 6 case:
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States
- Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
- Obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
- Conspiracy against rights
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to House January 6th Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson demanding the preservation of committee records in November 2022 for the incoming Republican-controlled Congress.
McCarthy said Republicans would hold hearings on why the Capitol was “not secure” during the riot.
Read the letter below:
Dear Chairman Thompson:
The American people chose Republicans to lead the 118th Congress. On January 3, 2023, your work as Chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will come to an end. For those reasons, I remind you and your staff on the Committee to preserve all records collected and transcripts of testimony taken during your investigation in accordance with House Rule VII. As the Chairman, regardless of who may be directing the work of the Committee, you are responsible for the work done by its members and staff.
It is clear, based on recent news reports, that even your own members and staff of the Committee have no visibility into the totality of the investigation. Some reports suggest that entire swaths of findings will be left out of the Committee’s final report. You have spent a year and a half and millions of taxpayers’ dollars conducting this investigation. It is imperative that all information collected be preserved not just for institutional prerogatives but for transparency to the American people. 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. Although your Committee’s public hearings did not focus on why the Capitol complex was not secure on January 6, 2021, the Republican majority in the 118th Congress will hold hearings that do so. The American people have a right to know that the allegations you have made are supported by the facts and to be able to view the transcripts with an eye toward encouraged enforcement of 18 USC 1001.
Excerpt from 18 USC 1001:
(a)Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—
1)falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2)makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3)makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relates to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117, or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years.
Democrat Bennie Thompson told House Republicans in a letter, stating:
“Consistent with guidance from the Office of the Clerk and other authorities, the Select Committee did not archive temporary committee records that were not elevated by the Committee’s actions, such as use in hearings or official publications, or those that did not further its investigative activities.”
