Introductory Material to the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol/Summary: Creation of the Select Committee; Purposes

SUMMARY: CREATION OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE; PURPOSES.

In the week after January 6th, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy initially supported legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, stating that “the President bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters” and calling for creation of a “fact-finding commission.”^[735] Leader McCarthy repeated his support for a bipartisan commission during a press conference on January 21: “The only way you will be able to answer these questions is through a bipartisan commission.”^[736]

On February 15, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in a letter to the House Democratic Caucus her intent to establish the type of independent commission McCarthy had supported, to “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”^[737] A few days thereafter, Leader McCarthy provided the Speaker a wish list that mirrored “suggestions from the Co-Chairs of the 9/11 Commission” that he and House Republicans hoped would be included in the House’s legislation to establish the Commission.^[738]

In particular, Leader McCarthy requested an equal ratio of Democratic and Republican nominations, equal subpoena power for the Democratic Chair and Republican Vice Chair of the Commission, and the exclusion of predetermined findings or outcomes that the Commission itself would produce. Closing his letter, Leader McCarthy quoted the 9/11 Commission Co-Chairs, writing that a “bipartisan independent investigation will earn credibility with the American public.”^[739] He again repeated his confidence in achieving that goal.^[740] In April 2021, Speaker Pelosi agreed to make the number of Republican and Democrat members of the Commission equal, and to provide both parties with an equal say in subpoenas, as McCarthy had requested.^[741]

In May 2021, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson began to negotiate more of the details for the Commission with his Republican counterpart, Ranking Member John Katko.^[742] On May 14, Chairman Thompson announced that he and Ranking Member Katko had reached an agreement on legislation to “form a bipartisan, independent Commission to investigate the January 6th domestic terrorism attack on the United States Capitol and recommend changes to further protect the Capitol, the citadel of our democracy.”^[743]

On May 18, the day before the House’s consideration of the Thompson-Katko agreement, Leader McCarthy released a statement in opposition to the legislation.^[744] Speaker Pelosi responded to that statement, saying: “Leader McCarthy won’t take yes for an answer.”^[745] The Speaker referred to Leader McCarthy’s February 22 letter where “he made three requests to be addressed in Democrats’ discussion draft.”^[746] She noted that “every single one was granted by Democrats, yet he still says no.”^[747]

In the days that followed, Republican Ranking Member Katko defended the bipartisan nature of the bill to create the Commission:

As I have called for since the days just after the attack, an independent, 9/11-style review is critical for removing the politics around January 6 and focusing solely on the facts and circumstances of the security breach at the Capitol, as well as other instances of violence relevant to such a review. Make no mistake about it, Mr. Thompson and I know this is about facts. It’s not partisan politics. We would have never gotten to this point if it was about partisan politics.^[748]

That evening, the House passed the legislation to establish a National Commission to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol Complex in a bipartisan fashion, with 35 Republicans joining 217 Democrats voting in favor and 175 Republicans voting against.^[749] In the days thereafter, however, only six Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats in supporting the legislation, killing the bill in the Senate.^[750]

On June 24, Speaker Pelosi announced her intent to create a House select committee to investigate the attack.^[751] On June 25, Leader McCarthy met with DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was seriously injured on January 6th.^[752] Officer Fanone pressed Leader McCarthy “for a commitment not to put obstructionists and the wrong people in that position.”^[753]

On June 30, the House voted on H. Res. 503 to establish the 13-member Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol by a vote of 222 Yeas and 190 Nays with just two Republicans supporting the measure: Representative Liz Cheney and Representative Adam Kinzinger.^[754] On July 1, Speaker Pelosi named eight initial members to the Select Committee, including one Republican: Representative Cheney.^[755]

On July 17th, Leader McCarthy proposed his selection of five members:

Rep. Jim Jordan, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee;

Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota; House Energy and Commerce Committee;

Rep. Troy Nehls, House Transportation & Infrastructure and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.

Rep. Jim Banks, Armed Services, Veterans’ Affairs and Education and Labor Committees;

Rep. Rodney Davis, Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration.^[756]

Jordan was personally involved in the acts and circumstances of January 6th, and would be one of the targets of the investigation. By that point, Banks had made public statements indicating that he had already reached his own conclusions and had no intention of cooperating in any objective investigation of January 6th, proclaiming, for example, that the Select Committee was created “… solely to malign conservatives and to justify the Left’s authoritarian agenda.”^[757]

On July 21, Speaker Nancy Pelosi exercised her power under H. Res. 503 not to approve the appointments of Rep. Jordan or Rep. Banks, expressing “concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members” and “the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.”^[758] However, she also stated that she had informed Leader McCarthy “… that I was prepared to appoint Representatives Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls, and requested that he recommend two other Members.”^[759]

In response, Leader McCarthy elected to remove all five of his Republican appointments, refusing to allow Reps. Armstrong, Davis and Nehls to participate on the Select Committee.^[760] On July 25, 2021, Speaker Pelosi then appointed Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger.^[761] In resisting the Committee’s subpoenas, certain litigants attempted to argue that the Commission’s composition violated House Rules or H. Res. 503, but those arguments failed in court.^[762]

SELECT COMMITTEE WITNESSES WERE ALMOST ENTIRELY REPUBLICAN

In its ten hearings or business meetings, the Select Committee called live testimony or played video for several dozen witnesses, the vast majority of whom were Republicans. A full list is set forth below.

Republicans:

• John McEntee (served as Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump Administration)
• Judd Deere (served as deputy assistant to the President and White House deputy press secretary in the administration of Donald Trump)
• Jared Kushner (served as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump)
• Pat Cipollone (served as White House Counsel for President Donald Trump)
• Eric Herschmann (served as a senior advisor to former President Donald Trump)
• Kayleigh McEnany (served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021)
• Derek Lyons (served as White House Staff Secretary and Counselor to the President in the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump)
• Cassidy Hutchinson (assistant to former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the Trump administration)
• Matt Pottinger (served as the United States deputy national security advisor)
• Ben Williamson (senior advisor to chief of staff Mark Meadows)
• Sarah Matthews (served as the deputy press secretary for the Trump administration)
• William Barr (served as Attorney General for the Trump administration)
• Mike Pompeo (served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as the 70th United States Secretary of State for the Trump administration)
• Ivanka Trump (served as a senior advisor and director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship for the Trump administration)
• Donald Trump Jr. (eldest child of Donald Trump)
• Molly Michael (served as Special Assistant to the President and Oval Office Operations Coordinator)
• Tim Murtaugh (served as director of communications for President Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign)
• Richard Donoghue (served as the acting United States deputy attorney general)
• Jeffrey Rosen (served as the acting United States attorney general from December 2020 to January 2021)
• Steven Engel (served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Trump administration)
• Marc Short (served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence)
• Greg Jacob (served as White House lawyer to former Vice President Mike Pence)
• Keith Kellogg (served as National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States)
• Chris Hodgson (served as director of legislative affairs for Vice President Mike Pence)
• Douglas Macgregor (former advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration)
• Jason Miller (served as spokesman for the Donald Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign and was a Senior Adviser to the Trump 2020 Re-election Campaign)
• Alex Cannon (an attorney for Donald Trump)
• Bill Stepien (served as the Campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential Campaign and was the White House Director of Political Affairs in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018)
• Rudolph Giuliani (an attorney for Donald Trump)
• John Eastman (an attorney central to the Electoral College election theories to overturn the results of the election)
• Michael Flynn (served as former National Security Advisor for the Trump Administration)
• Eugene Scalia (served as the United States secretary of labor during the final 16 months of the Donald Trump administration)
• Matthew Morgan (Deputy Assistant to the Vice President and Deputy Counsel)
• Sidney Powell (served on President Trump’s legal team to overturn the results of the 2020 election)
• Jeffrey Clark (former United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division)
• Cleta Mitchell (served on President Trump’s legal team to overturn the results of the 2020 election)
• Ronna Romney McDaniel (serving as the chair of the Republican National Committee)
• Justin Clark (served as Director of Public Liaison and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House under the Trump administration)
• Robert Sinners (a former campaign staffer for Donald Trump)
• Andrew Hitt (Former Wisconsin Republican Party Chair)
• Laura Cox (Former Michigan Republican Party Chair)
• Mike Shirkey (Majority Leader, Michigan State Senate - Republican)
• Bryan Cutler (Speaker, Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Republican)
• Rusty Bowers (Arizona House Speaker - Republican)
• Brad Raffensperger (Georgia Secretary of State - Republican)
• Gabriel Sterling (Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer - Republican)
• BJay Pak (Former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia)
• Al Schmidt (Former City Commissioner of Philadelphia)
• Chris Stirewalt (Former Fox News Political Editor)
• Benjamin Ginsberg (Election Attorney)
• J. Michael Luttig (Retired judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and informal advisor to Vice President Mike Pence)
• Katrina Pierson (served as a liaison for the White House and organizers at Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally on January 6)
• Nicholas Luna (Former President Donald Trump’s personal assistant in the White House)
• Stephen Miller (Senior Advisor to the President)
• Vincent Haley (Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor for Policy, Strategy and Speechwriting)
• Julie Radford (Ivanka Trump’s Former Chief of Staff)
• Mick Mulvaney (Former Chief of Staff and Special Envoy for Northern Ireland for the Trump administration)
• Elaine Chao (Former Transportation Secretary)
• Roger Stone (Trump associate)

Democrats:

• Jocelyn Benson (Michigan Secretary of State - Democrat)

Other:

• U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn
• DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone
• U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell
• DC Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges
• General Mark Milley (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
• U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards
• Nick Quested (award-winning British filmmaker)
• Robert Schornack (Sentenced to 36 months probation)
• Eric Barber (charged with theft and unlawful demonstration in the Capitol)
• John Wright (awaiting trial for felony civil disorder and other charges)
• George Meza (Proud Boy)
• Daniel Herendeen (sentenced to 36 months probation)
• Matthew Walter (Proud Boy)
• Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss (former Georgia election worker)
• Ruby Freeman (former Fulton County Election Worker)
• Anika Collier Navaroli (Former Twitter Employee)
• White House Security Official
• Jim Watkins (Founder and Owner, 8kun)
• Jody Williams (Former Owner of TheDonald.win)
• Dr. Donell Harvin (Former Chief of Homeland Security, DC)
• Kellye SoRelle (Oath Keepers General Counsel)
• Shealah Craighead (Former White House Photographer)
• Jason Van Tatenhove (Former Oath Keepers Spokesperson)
• Stephen Ayres (January 6th Defendant)
• Sgt. Mark Robinson (Ret.) (D.C. Metropolitan Police Department)
• Janet Buhler (Pleaded guilty to charges related to January 6th)

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• ¹ ↑  A few weeks later, Rhodes and his associate Kelly Meggs were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, and other Oath Keepers were found guilty on numerous charges for obstructing the electoral count. Trial Transcript at 10502-508, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Nov. 29, 2022); Alan Feuer and Zach Montague, “Oath Keepers Leader Convicted of Sedition in Landmark Jan. 6 Case,” New York Times, (Nov. 29, 2022), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/us/politics/oath-keepers-trial-verdict-jan-6.html.
• ² ↑  Trial Transcript at 5698, 5759, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2022).
• ³ ↑  Trial Transcript at 5775, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2022) (“for me at the time, it meant I felt it was like a Bastille type moment in history where in the French Revolution it was that big turning point moment where the population made their presence felt. I thought it was going to be a similar type of event for us”).
• ⁴ ↑  Trial Transcript at 5783, 5866, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2022).
• ⁵ ↑  Sentencing Transcript at 15-17, United States v. Reimler, No. 1:21-cr-239 (D.D.C. Jan. 11, 2022), ECF No. 37.
• ⁶ ↑  Sentencing Transcript at 33, United States v. Pert, No. 1:21-cr-139 (D.D.C. Feb. 11, 2022), ECF No. 64.
• ⁷ ↑  Sentencing Memorandum by Abram Markofski, Exhibit B, United States v. Markofski, No. 1:21-cr-344 (D.D.C. Dec. 2, 2021), ECF No. 44-2.
• ⁸ ↑  Sentencing Transcript at 49, United States v. Witcher, No. 1:21-cr-235 (D.D.C. Feb. 24, 2022), ECF No. 53
• ⁹ ↑  Sentencing Transcript at 19–20, United States v. Edwards, No. 1:21-cr-366 (D.D.C. Jan. 21, 2022), ECF No. 33. See also, Sentencing Memorandum by Brandon Nelson, Exhibit B, United States v. Nelson, No. 1:21-cr-344 (D.D.C. Dec. 6, 2021), ECF No. 51-2; Sentencing Transcript at 65–66, United States v. Griffith, No. 1:21-cr-204 (D.D.C. Oct. 30, 2021), ECF No. 137; Sentencing Transcript at 45, United States v. Schornak, 1:21-cr-278 (D.D.C. May 11, 2022), ECF No. 90; Sentencing Transcript at 35, United States v. Wilkerson, No. 1:21-cr-302 (D.D.C. Nov. 22, 2021), ECF No. 31; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Eric Barber, (Mar. 16, 2022), pp. 50–51.
• ¹⁰ ↑  Statement of Facts at 5, United States v. Sandlin, No. 1:21-cr-88 (D.D.C. Jan. 20, 2021), ECF No. 1-1; Ryan J. Reily (@ryanjreily), Twitter Oct. 1, 2022 3:33 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1576295667412017157; Ryan J. Reily (@ryanjreily), Twitter, Oct. 1, 2022 3:40 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1576296016512692225; Government’s Sentencing Memorandum at 2, 16, United States v. Sandlin, No. 1:21-cr-88 (D.D.C. Dec. 2, 2022), ECF No. 92.
• ¹¹ ↑  Government’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Revoke Magistrate Judge’s Detention Order at 4, United States v. Miller, No. 1:21-cr-119 (D.D.C. Mar. 29, 2021), ECF No 16; Dan Mangan, “Capitol Rioter Garret Miller Says He Was Following Trump’s Orders, Apologizes to AOC for Threat,” CNBC, (Jan. 25, 2021), available at https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/capitol-riots-garret-miller-says-he-was-following-trumps-orders-apologizes-to-aoc.html.