Capitol Riot Probe Panel to Seek Lawmakers’ Phone Records

Billy House, Bloomberg News

Demonstrators attempt to enter the U.S. Capitol building during a protest in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The U.S. Capitol was placed under lockdown and Vice President Mike Pence left the floor of Congress as hundreds of Demonstrators swarmed past barricades surrounding the building where lawmakers were debating Joe Biden's victory in the Electoral College. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Members of Congress are among the several hundred people whose phone, text and other communications records are being sought by the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, the panel’s chairman said.

The committee is requesting the information in letters going out this week to telecommunications companies, social media platforms and “other entities,” Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi told reporters.

Thompson didn’t identify anyone whose records are being sought or what companies are being asked to provide the information.

“I won’t tell you who they are; it’s several hundred people” and include members of Congress, Thompson said. He wouldn’t say whether associates of former President Donald Trump might also be on the list.

Thompson wouldn’t rule out subpoenas for the information if the committee’s requests aren’t met. Thompson said previously that the panel is seeking to determine who might have encouraged, orchestrated or otherwise assisted the assault on the Capitol.

One point that Democrats want to explore is the conversation House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy had with Trump amid the insurrection. McCarthy and other Republicans have denounced the special committee’s probe as politically driven.

The committee, which includes seven Democrats and two Republicans, was formed to investigate the the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by a group of Trump supporters in an effort to stop certification of the Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election.

The committee has held one public hearing so far and hasn’t announced a schedule of additional open meetings.