Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia announced that House Speaker Mike Johnson has assured him that the investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will be formalized as a new congressional committee.
This move is part of the GOP’s broader strategy to continue multiple investigations they launched in the last Congress, now that they control both the House, Senate, and White House.
Loudermilk stated that the details of the new committee are still being finalized, but one possibility is establishing it as a “select committee,” which would give Johnson greater control over its membership and operations.
The creation of this committee will elevate Loudermilk’s previous work, which included a report recommending that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney be referred to the FBI. It also keeps the Republican effort to shift blame away from former President Donald Trump for the January 6 violence in focus.
Loudermilk criticized the original January 6 select committee, led by Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney, saying it was “singularly focused” on blaming Trump. “In reality, it was a multitude of failures at different levels,” he argued.
Speaker Johnson has confirmed that the new investigation will receive full funding.
Beyond investigating the previous January 6 select committee and the Capitol security response, Republicans are also using their majority to revive other politically charged probes.
On Monday, Republicans reissued subpoenas related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, as well as subpoenas for two Justice Department tax investigators involved in the Hunter Biden case, sources told CNN. These efforts aim to revive investigations that had been stalled or tied up in legal battles for months.
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff is considering rejecting a pardon issued by President Joe Biden to individuals involved in the congressional January 6 investigation, including himself.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Schiff addressed potential political backlash, recalling that during Trump’s presidency, he argued that accepting a pardon was akin to admitting guilt.
Biden’s pardons, issued in his final days in office, were reportedly intended to protect figures such as Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci from potential retaliation by Trump and his incoming administration.
However, legal experts have pointed out that the pardons do not exempt recipients from testifying under oath if subpoenaed. Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall noted that while the pardons prevent criminal prosecution, they do not allow individuals to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying.
Binnall, a former attorney for Trump, argued that this could work against those pardoned, as they could still face perjury charges if they lie under oath. He also suggested that prosecutions of these individuals in Washington, D.C., would be unlikely due to political bias.