Lawmakers name for investigation into J6 committee following launch of safety footage

Arch-conservative lawmakers are calling for investigations into the House January 6 Committee and the lawmakers who served on the panel, following the discharge of safety footage that captured the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. 

Rep. Troy Nehls, Texas Republican, and Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, have known as for an investigation into present and former lawmakers who served on the now-defunct committee and claimed that the panel was a “sham.”

“The J6 committee was a sham,” Mr. Nehls mentioned on X. “I knew it then. Everyone knows it now. Let’s investigate the investigators.” 

The requires an investigation come after Speaker Mike Johnson introduced the deliberate launch of greater than 40,000 hours of footage over the subsequent a number of months. 

So far, the House Administration Committee has launched a primary spherical of about 90 hours of footage on the panel’s web site. 

“This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials,” mentioned Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. 

Mr. Lee accused former GOP lawmakers and committee members Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger of intentionally hiding footage from the incident in a put up on X. 

“Why didn’t Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger ever refer to any of these tapes? Maybe they never looked for them,” Mr. Lee mentioned. “Maybe they never even questioned their own narrative. Maybe they were just too busy selectively leaking the text messages of Republicans they wanted to defeat.” 

Mr. Lee continued, “Given the evidence they apparently suppressed, how much footage (and how many other records) do you think Nancy Pelosi and the J6 committee deliberately lost or destroyed?”

More footage can be launched within the months to come back, however not all the tapes from the assault on the Capitol can be unveiled to the general public. About 5% of the footage can be withheld as a result of it could “involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture,” Mr. Johnson mentioned. 

The Department of Justice has charged virtually 1,200 folks with federal crimes within the aftermath of the assaults on the U.S. Capitol. Over 800 of them have pleaded responsible or been convicted at trial, and about 700 folks concerned within the riot have been sentenced, with about two-thirds receiving jail phrases starting from three days to 22 years.