GOP Senator Pushes for Fresh Investigation Into January 6 Committee

Former Republican Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, along with several current Democratic figures such as California Senator Adam Schiff, could soon face scrutiny if a GOP senator succeeds in his latest push.

Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has demanded a formal probe into the Democrat-led House January 6 Select Committee following the revelation that then-President Joe Biden granted pardons to committee members.

“For months the Democrats said that under an old Supreme Court case, taking a pardon is an indication of guilt,” Banks stated on X. “Under that logic, by accepting pardons, Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney, and the other January 6th committee members have effectively confessed to engaging in criminal conduct.”

“Now that we know that their pardons were illegitimately signed by autopen, rendering them legally invalid, an investigation into the actions of every single committee member should be launched immediately!” he added.

When then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi established the committee, she rejected then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s proposed list of Republican members. Instead, she selected her own, including two of the most outspoken anti-Trump Republicans in the House at the time.

Jim Jordan, the current House Judiciary Committee Chairman, was among the Republicans, along with Banks, who were denied a position on the panel while they served in the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican leading the investigation are still undecided on how to move forward with their inquiry into the events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

According to three sources familiar with the situation, Johnson has indicated that Republicans should scale back the scope of the prior January 6 committee’s investigation and refrain from pursuing further inquiries, including any involving former GOP Representative Liz Cheney.

However, some White House officials back Representative Barry Loudermilk’s preference for a broader investigative mandate, given his appointment as head of the inquiry. CNN previously reported that former President Donald Trump had urged Johnson before his swearing-in to prioritize this investigation.

Sources suggest that Loudermilk’s new select subcommittee, announced by Johnson in January, has yet to start its work due to internal disagreements delaying negotiations.

“I told former Speaker Kevin McCarthy that I would accept the challenge under two conditions: I would have the autonomy and resources necessary to effectively pursue the facts without political bias or outside influence, and I would have the authority to report whatever we find to the American people,” Loudermilk told CNN in a statement.

“McCarthy asked me to lead House Republicans’ investigation into the Capitol’s security failures on January 6, 2021, and Pelosi’s Select Committee. This, in my opinion, is still necessary in order to effectively seek the truth,” he added.

Loudermilk’s focus in the previous Congress was on the operations of the prior January 6 committee and its findings. The final recommendation in the House GOP report was for the FBI to investigate Cheney’s role in the probe into the Capitol attack.

The sources further noted that a narrower scope of the investigation would prevent an in-depth examination of security measures before the attack and future Capitol security strategies.

Last month, Loudermilk stated that Speaker Johnson assured him that the investigation into the January 6, 2021, events at the Capitol would be “formalized as a new committee.”

This initiative is part of a broader Republican strategy to extend various investigations they initiated in the previous Congress, now that they control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Loudermilk mentioned that the framework of the new committee is still being negotiated, but one potential option is to grant Johnson increased authority over panel appointments and operations within the “select committee.”

Establishing a new committee to underscore Loudermilk’s prior work—including a report that suggested former GOP Representative Liz Cheney be investigated by the FBI—ensures that the Republican effort to shift attention away from former President Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 violence remains in focus.

“It was so singularly focused that basically Trump created this entire problem,” Loudermilk said about the prior January 6 select committee, which was led by Schiff and Cheney. “When in reality, it was a multitude of failures at different levels.”