OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republicans are now in charge of the House of Representatives and their first order of business, after eventually selecting a Speaker, is to not hide the truth from America. They are attempting to pass a rule that would prevent the findings of the January 6 Committee from going straight to the National Archives, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Committee shared the information it wanted to share with the American people but the raw material used in its findings is set to be sent to the National Archives, where it could be hidden for up to 50 years.
But the proposed rules package the new Congress will vote on Tuesday orders that any record created by the panel must instead be sent to the House Committee on House Administration by Jan. 17 and orders the National Archives to return any material it has already received.
The move could signal that House Republicans intend to attempt to rebut the panel’s investigation, which captivated public sentiment for months. The investigation ended with a criminal referral for former President Trump and a landmark report concluding Trump intentionally misled and provoked the insurrectionists as part of an attempt to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who is his party’s nominee for speaker of the House, sent a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the Jan. 6 committee, in November demanding the preservation of “all records collected and transcripts of testimony taken during your investigation.”
“I remind you and your staff on the Committee to preserve all records collected and transcripts of testimony taken during your investigation,” McCarthy wrote to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). He also said the panel must be held to the strictest of scrutiny, considering the implications of any findings.
“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,” he wrote.
“The official Congressional Records do not belong to you or any member, but to the American people, and they are owed all the information you gathered — not merely the information that comports with your political agenda,” McCarthy added.
In reference to a federal law making it illegal to provide false statements to government officials, McCarthy noted further, “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.”
The prospective House Speaker said that the GOP majority would not be continuing the committee’s work but instead will shift to “why the Capitol complex was not secure on January 6, 2021.”
Former House Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi set the House Committee on House Administration the custodian of the records.
With the current rule that committee has to send the records to the National Archives who must seal the records for a minimum of three decades.
The question many are asking is why? Why would the committee want records to be sealed for that length of time if they support the conclusions of the committee?
There were close to 1,200 interviews done by the committee and only a tiny fraction of those have been transcribed and shown.
The Democrat-led Jan. 6 House Committee has made a stunning decision as it pertains to former President Donald Trump. In correspondence sent to Trump attorney David Warrington the committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said that it had withdrawn its subpoena of the former president, Breitbart News reported.
“As you may know, the Select Committee has concluded its hearings, released its final report, and will very soon reach its end. In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena. Therefore, through this letter, I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena,” he said. “We appreciate your engagement with the Select Committee on this matter.”
The former president responded to the news on his Truth Social account.
“Was just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena of me,” he said before continuing his assertions about the election. “They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court.”
“In any event, the Subpoena is DEAD!” he said.