/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6138ed5393d0f346073a4ecc/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=2389&cropY1=0&cropY2=1344 "Republicans – In Swipe At Jan. 6 Panel – Ask Telecom Firms To Preserve Records Of Democrats")
Topline
A group of right-wing House Republicans on Wednesday sent letters to telecommunications companies asking them to preserve the records of Democratic lawmakers in retaliation for a similar request by a House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 31: Chair of the Freedom Caucus U.S. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) (3rd L) speaks as … [+]
Key Facts
Eight lawmakers led by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, asked the companies to preserve the phone and communications records of 16 unnamed individuals, who, Biggs said in a statement, are “Democrat representatives.”
Biggs said the records will be used for “future investigative use” – with the letter citing unspecified “alleged infractions” – adding that he wants to force Democrats to live “under the same rules and standards they impose.”
The 14 firms that got the letters, including Twitter, Verizon and Apple, were among the 35 companies asked by the select committee to preserve similar records of Capitol riot defendants and Trump allies who participated in efforts to overturn the election.
The letter from the Republicans argued that both the select committee and the companies lack the “legal authority to provide those records,” adding that, if they did comply, it would “end with Congress rifling through the private records of any American.”
The lawmakers who signed the letter – Biggs and Reps. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) – are all targets of the select committee’s records request, according to CNN and NBC News.
Key Background
House Republicans have repeatedly threatened companies not to comply with the select committee’s request, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy warning that Republicans “will not forget” any compliance if they retake Congress in 2022. The eight Republicans, plus Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), sent a letter to the companies vowing to “pursue all legal remedies” if they comply.
Chief Critic
The ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee last week urging the panel to investigate McCarthy and Greene for “threatening” the January 6 committee, accusing them of accusing them of obstructing the January 6 investigation.
