GOP-Led J6 Investigation To Be Its Own Committee This Congress
GOP Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia has announced that House Speaker Mike Johnson assured him his investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will be “formalized as a new committee.”
This move aligns with the Republican strategy to continue several investigations initiated in the previous Congress, now bolstered by their control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Loudermilk indicated that details of the committee are still being finalized. One possibility is that the committee, designated as a “select committee,” could grant Johnson greater authority over appointments and operational procedures.
Creating a new committee to emphasize Loudermilk’s work—including a report that suggested former GOP Representative Liz Cheney be referred to the FBI—keeps Republican efforts to shift accountability for the January 6 violence away from former President Donald Trump in the public eye.
“The previous January 6 select committee, led in part by Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney, was so singularly focused that it essentially placed all blame on Trump,” Loudermilk said. “In reality, it was a series of failures at multiple levels.”
Johnson has publicly pledged that the new investigation will be “fully funded.”
CNN reported that Republicans are not limiting their focus to the January 6 investigation. “Continuing its investigation into the previous January 6 select committee—and broader security responses to the Capitol attack—is just one of the politically charged investigations Republicans plan to pursue with their new majority,” the outlet noted.
Additionally, Republicans have renewed subpoenas related to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, as well as subpoenas involving two Justice Department tax investigators who worked on the Hunter Biden case, according to sources cited by CNN. These actions revive disputes from the previous Congress that remain unresolved in court.
Meanwhile, California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff is reportedly considering rejecting a pardon issued by President Joe Biden to individuals involved in the Congressional investigation into the January 6 riot, including himself. Schiff previously claimed that accepting a pardon constitutes an “admission of guilt,” a position he reiterated during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.
In a series of last-minute pardons, President Biden granted clemency to select individuals, including former Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The move, according to Biden aides, was intended to shield these individuals from potential retaliation by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
However, legal experts have noted that these pardons do not exempt recipients from testifying under oath if subpoenaed. Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall explained that the pardons eliminate the ability to invoke the Fifth Amendment as a reason to refuse testimony.
“The pardons are actually great news. No one who was just pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal, or congressional proceeding based on the Fifth Amendment,” Binnall posted on X (formerly Twitter). He added, “Let’s be realistic. Most of these individuals would likely face charges in Washington, D.C., which is notoriously lenient toward partisan leftists.”
Binnall, a former attorney for Donald Trump, concluded that the pardons could lead to greater scrutiny for those involved.