House Republicans launch probe into whether Jan. 6 committee colluded with Atlanta prosecutor
Republicans have launched an investigation into whether the now defunct January 6 Select Committee gave documents and materials, to Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, to build a criminal prosecution against former president Donald Trump.
Jim Jordan and Barry Loudermilk, Republican Reps., called on Ms. Willis to hand over any documents related to the investigation coordination between the Georgia prosecutor’s office and committee.
Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee had announced previously in August that his committee launched an investigation into whether Ms. Willis had coordinated with federal officials in her indictment against Mr. Trump.
In the most recent letter, she refused to reply.
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“Recently the Committee learned of the cooperation between your office, and the partisan Jan. 6 Select Committee. “We have a copy of your letter dated December 17 2021 and enclosed, which you sent to Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (Chairman of the partisan Jan 6 Select Committee) requesting access of congressional records that could be relevant to our criminal investigations,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
“Specifically, you requested that Rep. Thompson provide access to records, including but not limited to transcripts and recordings of depositions and witness interviews, as well as electronic and printed records of communications and records of travel.”
The letter notes that Ms. Willis and her staff are eager to travel to Washington “to meet with investigators personally” and to receive these records “at any time” between January 31, 2022 and February 25, 2022.
This new information raises questions about the Committee’s oversight regarding your politically motivated prosecution against a former president of the United States as well as several former senior federal officers.
The former California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed all members of the panel on Jan. 6, rejecting the Republican nominees of then-Leader Kevin McCarthy, and instead choosing Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.
Both Republicans were known to be stridently against Trump and neither is currently in Congress.
A second letter, written by Georgia Republican Mr. Loudermilk and sent to Mr. Thompson on Tuesday, indicated that the House Administration Subcommittee for Oversight found the same letter dated Dec. 17,2021 in the committee archives of Jan. 6.
According to public reports, the Select Committee provided records to Ms. Willis. The Select Committee gave ‘Fulton County Prosecutors’ key evidence on what the former president Trump and his top advisors knew about Georgia’s election results in 2020,” wrote Mr. Loudermilk.
He added, “However there are no additional records of any communication between the Select Committee, Ms. Willis, and her office.” We have no record of what Select Committee provided to her office.
Mr. Loudermilk said that this concern him, because Mr. Thompson had written in an earlier letter that he hadn’t preserved any video recordings or transcripts of depositions.
By failing to preserve the videos, you deny Americans the right to view the footage and draw their own conclusions regarding the truthfulness of witnesses. He said that Ms. Willis clearly agrees with him that video recordings are important documents.
The Washington Times quoted Mr. Thompson as saying that the committee on Jan. 6 adhered to the law regarding the preservation of documents.
“We followed the law.” That was all. “I’m not familiar with any destruction of documents,” he stated. “I am not aware that staff were instructed to destroy documents.”
According to the letter from Mr. Loudermilk to Mr. Thompson on August 11, 2023, federal prosecutors who worked for Special Counsel Jack Smith stated in court that they used unreleased transcripts supplied by the Select Committee to prosecute Mr. Trump.
It is not clear if these transcripts were received by the Special Counsel team from the Select Committee, or directly from Biden’s administration. Because you deliberately chose not to preserve and archive these transcripts my Subcommittee and the House of Representatives do not know who these witnesses are or what they have said during their interviews with the Select Committee,” wrote Mr. Loudermilk.
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