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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday warned dozens of communications companies against cooperation with the House select committee investigating the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill, saying Republicans “would not will not forget it “if they resume the House.
His comments were immediately criticized by Democrats and ethics pundits, who accused him of breaking House ethics rules and likened the statement to a falsification of the congressional investigation.
“Democrats ‘attempts to strengthen private companies to hand over individuals’ private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democratic politicians,” McCarthy said in a statement. posted on Twitter.
The select committee on Monday asked 35 companies to keep records that may be relevant to its investigation into the Capitol attack and “efforts to delay or interfere” with the transfer of power after the 2020 election, which could be the precursor to more focused and binding subpoenas. production of records.
Although the requests do not mention anyone by name, the select committee is expected to focus its investigation on GOP lawmakers who contacted former President Donald Trump around January 6 regarding the election, as well as close associates of the GOP. president and family members. .
McCarthy, whose own conversations with Trump came to light during the second impeachment trial, may be of interest to the panel’s investigation.
“It is very unusual for a member of Congress, especially someone in a leadership position in the House, to try to intervene and prevent a committee of Congress from trying to do its job,” Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the non-partisan watchdog group Public Citizen. , told ABC News.
“By requiring that no one participate in the select committee, it is undermining the credibility of Congress itself,” he said, suggesting that McCarthy’s comments violated House rule 23, which requires members to “stand by. behave at all times in a manner which should be reflected in an honorable manner in the House. ”
Holman said Public Citizen would consider filing a complaint against McCarthy with the Congressional Ethics Office, the independent ethics office of Congress, if no member asks the House Ethics Committee to look into the matter directly. . That office could refer its review to the ethics committee, which could decide to investigate the case further or sanction McCarthy.
In his statement, McCarthy also accused Democrats of asking companies to violate federal law, although his office did not respond to questions from ABC News asking for the specific law he was referring to.
“It is not illegal for the select committee to ask companies to keep the records and to require that the records be surrendered under subpoena if the committee can produce sufficient evidence to justify that action,” Holman said.
In response to McCarthy, the select committee noted he had asked the companies “not to destroy the files” which could help his investigation, and that the panel “will not be dissuaded by those who want to whitewash or cover the events of January 6, or to obstruct our investigation”.
“To me, that’s pretty straightforward intimidation and filibustering,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., A former prosecutor who was responsible for impeachment after the 6 attack, told ABC News. January. “It’s the congressional equivalent of ‘snitches have stitches.’ He kind of tells them.”
Zach Wamp, a former GOP congressman from Tennessee who co-chairs the Reformers Caucus for Issue One, a government reform advocacy group, criticized his former colleague’s statement.
“It’s not in his best interests or the right thing to do,” Wamp said of McCarthy. “You can’t conduct an investigation without knowing who spoke to whom and when.”
“There are Republicans who may have things to hide, but it’s not Kevin McCarthy,” he said.
“If this turns into a very broad demand unrelated to individuals, there are concerns about the Fourth Amendment,” Jonathan Bydlak, director of the R Street Institute’s governance program, told ABC News. “But I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about right now.”
Bydlak noted that McCarthy, as the House’s first Republican vote counter in 2013, was among the majority of House members to oppose an amendment restricting the collection of telephone records by the National Security Agency.
“When you compare what he says now to the opposition he has voiced in the past to the NSA’s bulk metadata collection, it’s really hard not to conclude that these remarks are motivated by partisan concerns. , not by ideological and principled concerns about government. access to private data, ”Bydlak said.
Other Republican lawmakers also bristled at the panel’s request for preservation.
“I don’t remember any text messages with the President of the United States. Certainly I communicate regularly with other members of Congress,” said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, who strategized with other Republicans at White House on how to derail the January 6 electoral vote count, Newsmax said.
Brooks, who is running for the Senate, urged Trump supporters to “start jotting down names and kicking **” and asked if they were ready to “fight for America” at the time. ‘a rally in front of the White House on January 6. He later said he was not encouraging violence.
“I haven’t looked at these text messages, but I guess on one side or the other there are caustic words used to describe what’s going on in our country… but these are private communications,” Brooks told Newsmax.
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