The head of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a sweeping round of demands Wednesday seeking information from the executive branch and other agencies related to the attack and former President Donald Trump’s push to discredit the election results.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, sent letters to the National Archives and Records Administration and seven other executive branch agencies, giving them a two-week deadline to meet their requests for information.
“The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is examining the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6th attack,” Mr. Thompson said. “Our Constitution provides for a peaceful transfer of power, and this investigation seeks to evaluate threats to that process, identify lessons learned and recommend laws, policies, procedures, rules, or regulations necessary to protect our republic in the future.”
The select committee’s first public hearing late last month featured gripping testimony from members of law enforcement that clashed with the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol building to protest the election results.
The next hearing has yet to be scheduled.
The committee’s request on Wednesday seeks White House records from the Trump administration, as well as information on the role various agencies played in defending the Capitol, the planning of events in Washington around that time and “how the January 6th events fit in the continuum of efforts to subvert the rule of law, overturn the results of the November 3, 2020 election, or otherwise impede the peaceful transfer of power.”
The letter urges David Ferriero, archivist of the United States, to use his legal authority to expedite the committee’s request.
The select committee is seeking information from the National Archives and Records Administration; the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, the Interior and Justice; the FBI; the National Counterterrorism Center; and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
