WASHINGTON (AP)-Three other House Republicans received a request to volunteer Monday before a Congressional committee investigating the U.S. Capitol Uprising and answering questions about their involvement in the attempt to defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The committee sent letters to lawmakers Mo Brooke of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Ronnie Jackson of Texas, three members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus linked to Trump in recent years.
The nine-member panel is asking members of Congress to testify of their attendance at White House meetings, talking directly with then-President Trump as he seeks to challenge his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, and planning and coordination. . Promotions before and before January 6, 2021.
“The select committee found that many of our colleagues had information relevant to our investigation into the facts, circumstances and causes of Jan. 6,” said Benny Thompson, D-Miss. And Vice President Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. ., Read in the statement. “We invite our colleagues to join the hundreds of people who shared information with the selected committee to find out what happened on January 6.”
Since the investigation began last summer, the Jan.6 panel has been slowly gaining new details about what lawmakers were saying and doing in the weeks before the uprising. Members have already asked three members of Congress – Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – to volunteer to testify. Everyone refused.
So far, the commission on January 6 has been reluctant to call MPs because it fears the consequences of such an emergency measure. But over the past few days, Thompson and other committee members have indicated that the call to their colleagues may not have been fully finished.
The decision to seek Brooks ’cooperation came weeks after the Alabama Republican accused Trump of denying him approval for the Senate seat after he rejected the former president’s request to cancel the 2020 election.
“Trump wants to cancel and end the election,” Brooks told reporters in March. “But there’s no legal way to do it.”
Speaking at a rally the day Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Brooks told them, “Today is the day that patriotic Americans start throwing names and ankles.” He has become more critical of the former president, and the committee believes his understanding of Trump’s attempts to involve members of Congress will help their investigations.
The committee’s interest in Biggs came after he appeared in court on April 22, where lawmakers accused him of actively attending White House meetings after the 2020 election, where he and other Republicans were looking for ways to keep Trump in order. Biggs was also accused of encouraging protesters to come to Washington on Jan. 6, as well as convincing lawmakers and state officials that the elections had been stolen.
The panel also said it had “the latest information from former White House staff” showing attempts by some House of Representatives to apologize to the president for actions related to Trump’s attempts to cancel the elections. “Your name has been named as a potential participant in this effort,” the committee wrote to Biggs.
In an interview last week, Biggs did not deny his public efforts to challenge the election results, but he called recent reports of his deep involvement a lie. “I saw my name.” There are three articles now and they are full of lies, “he told The Associated Press.
The jury also wanted to ask Jackson about his efforts, along with other lawmakers, to block home doors when riots tried to enter.
“The committee had video evidence of how close the rebels were to the House attack at the time,” Thompson and Cheney wrote. We would like to record your direct observations at that time, along with the reactions and statements of other members of Congress on the violence at that time.
Additionally, Jackson, a former White House physician to the two presidents, was cited in texts the committee found among sworn members when they and other violent mobs arrived at the Capitol.
In a text, a far-right member of the militia sent a message to their leader, Stuart Rhodes, saying Jackson needed their protection because “he has critical data that must be protected.”
“The above exchanges raise some specific questions for you,” the committee wrote to Jackson. “Why should these people be interested in your particular position?” Why do you think you have “critical data protection?” Why do they turn to their members to protect your personal safety?
Since then Rhodes and 10 other members or associates associated with the group have been charged with insurgent conspiracy in the investigation into the attack on the Department of Justice.
During the Trump administration, Jackson emerged as a vocal ally, but his candidacy for the position of Veterans Affairs Secretary was dismissed on allegations of creating a bad work environment and misrepresentation on prescription drugs. . Jackson vehemently denied these statements and went on to run for Congress from Texas.
Biggs, Jackson and Brooks’ request for comment was not immediately returned Monday.
This story was altered to show that Biggs was a legislator from Arizona and not from Wisconsin.
Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Source: Huffpost
