#captiol riot

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Jan. 6 panel refers McCarthy, 3 other Republicans for ethics violations

The panel referred the lawmakers for a review by the bipartisan ethics committee, which is seen as unlikely to take action against the membe

The Jan. 6 Select Committee said on Monday that four House Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, violated congressional ethics rules by defying subpoenas for testimony and documents.

The panel referred the lawmakers for a review by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which is seen as unlikely to take action against the members. The Ethics Panel declined to comment.

In addition to McCarthy, three other lawmakers were referred for defying subpoenas: Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).

Another GOP member who ignored the summons, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is leaving Congress after this year and will be out of the Ethics Panel’s reach. He has issued public statements about his contact with former President Donald Trump, including about Trump’s floating of an idea to rescind the results of the 2020 election and reinstall him as President.

The select panel subpoenaed the five lawmakers in May. None of them complied with the summonses, generally citing concerns about the Committee’s composition and legitimacy.

The Ethics Panel, which is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, has the power to impose fines or recommend discipline by the full House. Individual lawmakers can file complaints with the ethics panel for its consideration in the next Congress, but its investigations move slowly.

Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye denounced the referral as a “partisan and political stunt” by the select panel. Biggs, in a tweet, also denounced the referral and called it “inappropriate” to use the ethics panel “to help reach the J6 Committee’s pre-determined conclusions.” Spokespeople for McCarthy and Perry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Select panel members recognize the long-shot nature of the transmission but view the defiance of the subpoenas as an undermining of congressional subpoena power that could harm future investigations.

“I don’t know what the Ethics Committee will do. I don’t even know who it’s composed of at this point,” panel member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) acknowledged.

“I certainly hope the Ethics Committee will not regard this as a partisan matter,” he added. “It raises a profound problem that we have to solve for the 117th Congress, the 118th Congress and for all future Congresses.”

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‘Red wedding’: Video shows far-right promoting plans for protest after Trump tweet

’He is now calling on we the people to take action and show our numbers’, Alex Jones said in a video from December 2020

The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot on January 6 played video footage showing that many far-right commentators promoted plans for a protest on the day of the insurrection, after former-President Donald Trump said it would be “wild”.

The Select Committee played video evidence showing that after Mr. Trump called on his supporters to come to Washington on 6 January 2021, the day that Congress certifies the Electoral College results, many far-right commentators saw the then-president’s words as a call to arms.

The Select Committee played a montage of numerous far-right commentators including InfoWars owner Alex Jones, YouTube commentator Tim Pool and others urging people to come to the nation’s capital.

“He is now calling on we the people to take action and show our numbers”, Mr. Jones said at the time in a video.

“We’re going to only be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if necessary storming right into the Capitol”, right-wing commentator Matt Bracken said.

“This is going to be a Red Wedding going down on January 6,” YouTuber Salty Crackers said in one video.

Mr. Pool, for his part, said that January 6 could likely be the former-President’s “last stand”.

“And it's a time when he has specifically called on his supporters to arrive in DC. That's something that may actually be the big push. Trump supporters need to say this is it. It's now or never”, he said.

The term “Red Wedding” is a reference to the television show Game of Thrones, wherein a mass slaughter takes place at a wedding.

“The point is that Trump's call to Washington reverberated powerfully and pervasively online,” Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the Select Committee, said. Mr. Raskin said that the Committee interviewed a former Twitter employee who explained the effects Mr. Trump had on the platform.

“The employee testified that Twitter considered adopting a stricter content moderation policy, after President Trump told the proud boys to stand back and stand by from the lectern at the September 29 presidential debate, but Twitter chose not to act,” Mr. Raskin said.