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- The Jan. 6 House committee called on telecommunications companies to preserve Republicans’ messages.
- Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said they would be “closed” if they provided data to the commission.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said Tuesday that any telecommunications company complying with a Republicans’ request to forward messages to the Jan. 6 commission would be “shut down.”
The House committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the Capitol Riot.
The group on Friday asked social media companies to turn over files related to the riot. On Monday, he asked 35 social media and telecommunications companies to “preserve” the files of a list of Republicans in Congress, former President Donald Trump and the Trump family.
Several Republicans described the demands as a form of authoritarian overtaking, a theme that dominated Greene’s appearance in Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Tuesday.
The discussion seemed to react to both requests. Although the committee did not name members of Congress on the list, sources told CNN that several Republicans, including Greene, were on it.
Fox News reported that the committee was looking for Greene’s phone records, although no telecommunications company was asked to hand over anything.
“If these carriers, if they accept that, they’ll be shut down. And that’s a promise,” Greene told Carlson, without explaining how that would be achieved.
—App (@Acc) September 1, 2021
Georgia’s ultra-conservative Republican has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory movement, which was present during the January 6 riots. She also suggested that the pro-Trump rioters weren’t actually Trump supporters.
On Fox News, Greene said the House committee was engaged in a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
“If members of Congress can see their cell phone data exposed … just to hurt us politically in the next election, then we are entering a dangerous place in this country,” she said.
She predicted the GOP would regain a majority in the House in the 2022 midterm election and said it would “take this very seriously.”
—App (@Acc) September 1, 2021
When Carlson suggested that companies that hand over cases be shut down, Greene agreed. “We will,” she said, without giving details.
Earlier on Tuesday, Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement strongly criticizing the committee’s demands as they move towards a “surveillance state” that violates federal law.
—Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 31, 2021
McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for information about the law the committee was breaking. He resisted making up the committee, saying in July that the GOP would launch its own investigation into the riot.
The committee, whose members were chosen by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has long been a source of contention between parties. In May, Republicans in the Senate filibustered a proposal for a bicameral committee of equal weight that would have allowed each party to nominate its members.
Pelosi came forward with a select committee, which Republicans criticized as being too political. She rejected two of McCarthy’s choices – Reps Jim Jordan and Jim Banks – on the grounds that they voted against certification of the 2020 election results.
McCarthy then withdrew his five candidates, effectively removing much of the GOP’s support for the effort.
Fox News and Greene did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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