The committee will need to preserve all documents, transcripts, and other supporting materials on file for the next Republican majority, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
McCarthy wrote a letter to committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) on January 6 stating that the documents should be kept for transparency’s sake and that they would be helpful to Republicans when they start looking into why the Capitol wasn’t secured on the day of the incident.
The request comes in response to allegations that committee members’ political objectives, particularly those of departing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), colored the evidence chosen for public presentation in the hearings and impending final report.
In the letter dated Wednesday, McCarthy stated that it was crucial to save all material gathered in order to be transparent with the American people as well as for institutional prerogatives. The American people have a right to know that the claims you have made are supported by the facts. “The official Congressional Records do not belong to you or any member, but to the American people, and they are owed all of the information you gathered—not just the information that comports with your political agenda.”
The Washington Post reported last week that committee workers are dissatisfied with the final report’s purported focus on the riot’s involvement by former President Donald Trump and lack of attention to inquiries into why law enforcement and the intelligence community weren’t ready for the attack. Another team’s work, which examined the influence of extremist organizations, is also said to have been mostly ignored. The committee and Cheney’s office vehemently denied the allegations made by the unnamed staffers.
Priorities for House GOP investigations are being laid out by McCarthy in advance of the start of the new Congress on January 3. Despite being the only Republican running for speaker of the House at the moment, he may not win the post because several GOP legislators have sworn to vote against him.
