Jan. 6 committee looking at issuing subpoenas to Republican lawmakers: Chairman

The congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack is studying whether it can issue subpoenas to Republican members of Congress to force their cooperation, according to the panel's chairman.

According to Press TV, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday that the committee is seeking to lawfully issue subpoenas to sitting members of Congress.

"I think there are some questions of whether we have the authority to do it," Thompson said. "We're looking at it. If the authorities are there, there'll be no reluctance on our part."

Thompson chairs the House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6, which will hold public hearings and issue reports in the coming months.

The committee sent a letter on Dec. 22 to Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican and ardent ally of Donald Trump, asking for testimony about his telephone conversations with the former president on Jan. 6.

A similar letter was sent to Republican Representative Scott Perry on Dec. 20, requesting his testimony about Trump's attempts to oust Jeffrey Rosen, the acting head of the US Justice Department during the closing weeks of his presidency, and replace him with Jeffrey Clark, an official who at the time was seeking to help Trump overturn his election defeat.

Perry declined to cooperate, saying in a tweet on Dec. 21 that the committee "is illegitimate, and not duly constituted."

However, an appeals court ruled earlier last month that the committee was legitimate and entitled to see White House records Trump has attempted to shield from public view.

Democrats have been arguing that the riot on Jan. 6 was an insurrection based on disinformation spread by Trump, who alleges that he is the true victor of the 2020 presidential election and not Joe Biden.

Thousands of Trump’s supporters attacked police, vandalized the Capitol and sent members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence running for their lives on that day.

Multiple people close to Trump, including conservative media TV hosts, urged him during the riot to make a televised speech telling his supporters to stop the riot. Trump waited hours before releasing a prerecorded message.

Representative Liz Cheney, the panel's Republican vice chair and a harsh critic of Trump, said Sunday the committee received testimony that Trump's daughter, Ivanka, repeatedly asked her father to intervene to stop the attack.

ME