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Retention of communication documents is the first step in an investigative process that could eventually lead to testimony. The notices are expected to come out as early as this week and provide the first window into the types of information the committee plans to seek out.
Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the select committee, said he hoped to issue subpoenas by the end of August. Thompson also endorsed a broader investigative strategy that will serve as a guide for the panel’s work going forward, according to a source familiar with the planning document.
While it is not yet clear what member files are of interest to the committee, several Republican lawmakers, including Parliamentary Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP Representative Jim Jordan, admitted speaking to the then president. , Donald Trump, by phone Jan.6.
Democrats have also accused some of their GOP colleagues of interacting with people who stormed the United States Capitol before the attack.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Thompson confirmed the committee was set to send letters to telecom companies, but also said they would be sent to social media companies, though he declined to name which.
“As far as the telecommunications companies are concerned, these are the ones that you pretty much already know, the major networks, the social media platforms, that sort of thing,” Thompson told CNN on Monday.
“I can tell you that we will be looking at anything that gives us any information about what happened on January 6,” Thompson said. “We will be looking at all the records at some point.”
The Mississippi Democrat said letters requesting retention of the documents had not yet been released, but there is a wide range of people the committee is considering contacting.
“We have a fairly comprehensive list of people. I won’t tell you who they are. But there are several hundred people who make up the list of people we are considering contacting,” he said.
Jordan, who said he spoke to former Trump on Jan.6, told CNN on Monday that he had not been contacted by the committee to preserve his records, but said if he did, he would ‘would conform to it.
“I have nothing to hide. I said that, I have nothing to hide,” said Jordan, an Ohio Republican, but then warned that if the committee took this step, there might be have political reprisals.
Much of the committee’s work so far has taken place behind closed doors, and the exact scope of the investigation remains unclear, but there are signs it could turn into a massive undertaking.
The resolution authorizing the select committee makes no specific limitation on what it can and cannot investigate, leaving it to the committee to impose its own safeguards and narrower scope.
The initial plans involve the compilation of huge amounts of data, documents and possibly compelling testimony from a wide range of potential witnesses, including members of Congress, former members of the Trump administration and some of the hundreds of rioters who were accused of assaulting the Capitol. daytime.
To date, committee officials have provided few details on potential subpoena targets, although GOP representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming and other members of the panel have made it clear that the Investigators had to “access every piece of information that matters”. This likely includes putting together a detailed understanding of what Trump and his closest allies were doing that day and before the attack.
The select committee has also started meeting with relevant agencies at the staff level, one of the sources familiar with the committee’s investigation told CNN, further indication that the investigation may finally start to escalate within days. and the weeks to come.
The panel expressed interest in speaking to former DOJ officials who have been linked to Trump’s efforts to push forward the false allegations of voter fraud. CNN has previously indicated that it may search the relevant White House call logs with the National Archives, which has had legal custody of all presidential records since Trump’s tenure.
Still, the Archives noted that there is a process “whereby Congress and the incumbent administration may request access to the records of former administrations.”
House committees that signed the March letter regularly receive documents from the Archives, according to two sources familiar with the process. These documents, along with other documents relevant to January 6, will be shared with the select committee which is now tasked with examining all issues related to the attack, the sources added.
This story was updated with additional details on Monday.
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