Jan. 6 Committee Updates
The United States House Select Committee investigation on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol. Here are the most recent updates.
Roger Stone sues to block committee from getting phone records
An ally of former President Donald J. Trump, Roger J. Stone Jr., has sued members of the House committee on Thursday.
Why’d he sue: Mr. Stone has asked the federal court to block the committee from gaining access to his personal text messages and phone calls. Mr. Stone’s lawsuit questioned the legitimacy of the investigation, arguing that the committee’s request to access phone records was “overly broad.”
Mr. Stone is among 19 potential witnesses that are trying to fight the subpoenas from the court, however, the judges have continued to side with the panel.
Why Roger Stone: Investigators from the committee view Mr. Stone as a significant witness due to his relationship with many prominent political organizers and far-right groups that were involved with the rallies prior to the attack on the Capitol.
Last week during a ruling in a civil suit, a federal judge mentioned that Mr.Stone was in contact with the leader of the Proud Boys militia group and used the Oath Keepers as his security detail for the rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
What are they saying: Judge Amit P. Mehta said, “Stone’s connections to both the president and these groups in the days leading up to Jan. 6 is a well-pleaded fact.” He continued on stating that, “Discovery might prove that connection to be an important one.”
Biden orders Trump White House visitor logs to be turned over to Jan. 6 committee
President Joe Biden has ordered the White House visitor logs from former President Donald Trump’s tenure to be turned over to the House committee as part of the investigation into the Jan.6 attack on the capitol.
What are they saying: White House counsel Dana Remus said, ““The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records.”
Why is this important: Trump’s visitor logs could potentially provide significant insight into the events that were taking place during his time in office. The Trump administration kept visitor logs private stating that they could not be released due to concerns of national security. Biden’s administration discloses visitor logs on a month basis voluntarily, with some exceptions.