Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Monday warned of political retribution if the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol investigates phone records of politicians. He also said he has “nothing to hide.”
Jordan’s rant came after the committee announced it will send notices to telecom companies to request phone records of several people, including members of Congress, several news outlets reported on Monday.
The notices could be sent to the companies by this week, asking them to preserve communication records which can eventually lead to testimony from witnesses, according to the report citing sources.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Select Committee, said the committee is also looking to send similar notices to social media companies.
He said they intend to issue subpoenas as soon as the end of August and he has already signed a broader investigation strategy for the 6 January Capitol riots.
“We have quite an exhaustive list of people. I won’t tell you who they are. But it’s several hundred people that make up the list of individuals we plan to contact,” Thompson told the reporters on Monday.
He said they plan to obtain phone, email, and text records without confirming the names of the members of Congress.
The Mississippi Democrat said they are yet to send out the letters to the companies, confirming that the Committee will contact a wide range of people.
Democrat representative Mikie Sherrill previously said that she witnessed “members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol … a reconnaissance for the next day.”
Calling it suspicious, she raised alarm that some members may have provided “reconnaissance” tours to rioters even as Capitol was closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Several Democrats have also accused Republican leaders of communicating with the alleged rioters before the attack.
Thompsom said that they will look into everything that has the potential to provide them with the information about 6 January, adding that “we will look at all records at some point.”
Both Jordan and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have said they spoke to then-president Donald Trump on phone on the day of the insurrection.
