The Jan. 6 select committee has signaled it’s ready to issue subpoenas for lawmakers who don’t cooperate with its investigation into the attack on the US Capitol after GOP Rep. Scott Perry (R-Fla.) declined to comply with a “voluntary cooperation” in explaining his role in Trump’s pressure campaign at the Department of Justice to delay certification of the 2020 election results.
Perry on Tuesday said he would not meet with the committee’s investigators, raising questions over whether the panel will take the remarkable step of subpoenaing testimony from a colleague.
“I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives. I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left,” Perry said Tuesday, adding the committee was the work of a Democratic party “who desperately seek distraction.”
But the committee quickly made clear that Perry may face a formal subpoena if he doesn’t comply with its demands. That includes not only sitting for an interview but turning over all his communications with Trump, the Trump legal team, and anything related to Jan. 6 or its planning, The Hill reports.
“The Select Committee prefers to gather relevant evidence from members cooperatively, but if members with directly relevant information decline to cooperate and instead endeavor to cover up, the Select Committee will consider seeking such information using other tools,” a committee spokesman said Tuesday.
The move could trigger a flurry of similar subpoenas for other GOP lawmakers who may have been involved in former President Trump’s efforts to remain in the White House.
Perry’s refusal to cooperate with the Committee leaves Democrats to decide whether to break a precedent as they risk losing control of the House in the midterms.
“The issue of setting a precedent is one that they will be careful about, and I think that they’ll probably conclude that given the magnitude of what happened and the important of the investigation that it’s worth continuing to look into it,” said Neil Eggleston, who served as White House counsel to former President Obama and as counsel to the House committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair.
“He’s refused to cooperate so really their choices are to stand down and not pursue information from him or to issue a subpoena. There really aren’t any other options.”
Other GOP Reps, including Jim Jordan, of Ohio, and Mo Brooks, of Alabama, are reportedly under the crosshair of the Committee.