McCarthy Threatens Technology Firms That Comply With Riot Inquiry

WASHINGTON — Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, has threatened to retaliate against immoderate institution that complies with the legislature committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, aft the sheet asked dozens of firms to sphere the telephone and societal media records of 11 far-right members of Congress who pushed to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Mr. McCarthy’s informing was an escalation of his efforts to thwart a afloat accounting of the deadly onslaught astatine the Capitol carried retired by a pro-Trump mob, and his latest effort to insulate the erstwhile president and Republican lawmakers from scrutiny of their ties to the violence. It came aft helium led the G.O.P. absorption to the instauration of an autarkic bipartisan committee to analyse the riot, and past pulled 5 Republican congressmen from the prime committee that Democrats created connected their own, boycotting the proceedings.

In preservation orders the peculiar committee sent to 35 exertion firms this week, members of the sheet included the names of hundreds of radical whose records they mightiness privation to review, among them immoderate of Donald J. Trump’s astir ardent allies successful Congress, according to respective radical acquainted with the documents who were not authorized to talk astir its contents.

The 11 Republicans are Representatives Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Jody B. Hice of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

The preservation demands were accompanied by a connection that said the committee was simply “gathering facts, not alleging wrongdoing by immoderate individual.” But the inclusion of the Republicans’ names, reported earlier by CNN, indicated that the sheet planned to scrutinize immoderate relation they whitethorn person played successful fueling the violence.

“These are the individuals who person been publically supportive of Jan. 6 and the radical who participated successful the insurrection connected Jan. 6,” Representative Bennie G. Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the panel’s chairman, said successful an interview.

“We request to find retired precisely what their level of information successful this lawsuit was,” helium said. “If you helped rise money, if you provided misinformation to people, if you served connected a readying committee — immoderate your relation successful Jan. 6, I deliberation the nationalist has a close to know.”

The sheet has not asked to sphere the records of Mr. McCarthy, who has said helium had a tense telephone telephone with Mr. Trump arsenic the mob laid siege to the Capitol, but Mr. Thompson said the apical Republican’s sanction could yet beryllium added.

Mr. Thompson said Mr. McCarthy’s protestations were “typical of idiosyncratic who whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person been progressive successful Jan. 6 and doesn’t privation that accusation to go public.”

On Tuesday, Mr. McCarthy said Republicans would “not forget” and “hold accountable” those tech companies that sphere records sought by the committee. His remarks followed denunciations of the committee’s enactment by Representative Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, who has called the panel’s tactics “authoritarian,” and Mr. Trump, who has called it a “partisan sham.”

Ms. Greene threatened connected Fox News that telecommunications companies that cooperated with the probe would beryllium “shut down.”

Mr. McCarthy asserted, without citing immoderate law, that it would beryllium amerciable for the exertion companies to cooperate with the inquiry, adjacent though legislature investigations person obtained telephone records before. He said that if his enactment won power of the House, it would usage its powerfulness to punish immoderate that did.

“If these companies comply with the Democrat bid to crook implicit backstage information, they are successful usurpation of national instrumentality and taxable to losing their quality to run successful the United States,” Mr. McCarthy wrote connected Twitter connected Tuesday. “If companies inactive take to interruption national law, a Republican bulk volition not hide and volition basal with Americans to clasp them afloat accountable nether the law.”

Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and a subordinate of the committee, said helium was stunned by Mr. McCarthy’s remarks, describing them arsenic akin to obstructing an investigation.

“He is leveling threats against radical cooperating with a legislature investigation,” Mr. Raskin said. “That’s an astounding crook of events. Why would the number person of the House of Representatives not beryllium funny successful our quality to get each of the facts successful narration to the Jan. 6 attack?”

Barbara L. McQuade, a erstwhile U.S. lawyer and University of Michigan instrumentality professor, called Mr. McCarthy’s claims “baseless,” noting that the sheet had not requested the contented of immoderate communication.

“He is falsely portraying the committee arsenic overreaching truthful that helium tin support his ain governmental interests, to the detriment of Congress’s quality to bash its occupation and the nationalist spot successful our institutions of government,” she said.

In the past week, the prime committee has ramped up its work, taking 3 wide-ranging investigative steps: a records request to 7 national agencies focusing successful portion connected immoderate ties Mr. Trump whitethorn person had to the attack’s readying oregon execution; a papers request to 15 societal media companies for worldly astir efforts to overturn the predetermination and home convulsive extremists who whitethorn person been involved; and the grounds preservation orders including the Republican representatives.

The 11 Republicans see lawmakers who spearheaded the effort to situation the predetermination result successful Congress connected Jan. 6 and those who played astatine slightest immoderate relation successful the “Stop the Steal” effort to protestation the results, including promoting rallies astir the state and the 1 successful Washington whose attendees attacked the Capitol.

Some of the lawmakers named successful the bid person continued to publically dispersed the predetermination lies that inspired the riot, and to allude to the anticipation of much unit to come. Mr. Cawthorn falsely claimed connected Sunday that the predetermination had been “rigged” and “stolen,” telling a assemblage successful Franklin, N.C., that if elections were not safeguarded successful the future, it could effect successful “bloodshed.”

The prime committee has been gathering doubly a week, adjacent during Congress’s summertime recess, arsenic its members program their adjacent steps. Mr. Thompson said 2 much hearings were successful the works, 1 to excavation deeper into the unit run Mr. Trump and his allies started to overturn President Biden’s victory, and different to research who encouraged militia and extremist groups to travel to Washington earlier the assault.

Last week, the sheet sought communications among apical Trump medication officials astir attempts to spot politically loyal unit successful elder positions successful the run-up to the attack; the readying and backing of pro-Trump rallies connected Jan. 5 and 6; and different attempts to halt oregon dilatory the process of Mr. Trump handing implicit the presidency to Mr. Biden.

It demanded records of communications betwixt the White House and Ali Alexander, who publicized the “Stop the Steal” rallies, arsenic good arsenic Tom Van Flein, Mr. Gosar’s main of staff.

Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and a committee member, said the requests were “broad” by plan arsenic the sheet sought to nutrient a “comprehensive report.” He said they could beryllium expanded to see much members of Congress if grounds emerges to suggest it is necessary.

“We cognize that determination are members who were progressive successful the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally; we cognize that determination are members who had nonstop communications with the president portion the onslaught connected the Capitol was going on,” helium said. “There are immoderate fig of members who person precise pertinent information.”

On Friday, the sheet sent letters to 15 societal media companies — including sites wherever misinformation astir predetermination fraud spread, specified arsenic the pro-Trump website theDonald.win — seeking immoderate documents successful their possession pertaining to efforts to overturn the predetermination and immoderate home convulsive extremists associated with the Jan. 6 rally and attack.

The committee had already asked for records connected extremist groups and militias that were contiguous astatine the Capitol that day, including QAnon, the Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. A idiosyncratic acquainted with the committee’s discussions said its members intended to analyse much profoundly plans among militia groups to coordinate.

At slightest 10 suspected militia extremists attended paramilitary grooming successful Ohio, Florida and North Carolina earlier the breach, according to tribunal documents. Suspected home convulsive extremists besides “coordinated efforts to bring tactical instrumentality to the event, presumably successful anticipation of violence,” according to an April homeland information investigation obtained by The New York Times done a nationalist records petition filed by the radical Property of the People.

“There were undoubtedly insurrectionist groups that were dead-set connected committing violence,” Mr. Raskin said. “If you perceive to their chatter post-Jan. 6, it’s each abut however adjacent they came, and adjacent clip they volition beryllium carrying arms.”

The records preservation petition delivered connected Monday asked telecommunications companies to support connected record accusation astir compartment operation locations, substance messages and telephone logs, and accusation uploaded to unreality retention systems.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and a subordinate of the committee, emphasized that the petition was “an investigation, not an accusation.”

“We’ll spot what we find out,” she said. “It’s just to accidental you didn’t person 10,000 radical conscionable hap to amusement up and onslaught Capitol Police officers, maim them and endanger to termination the vice president and members of Congress conscionable due to the fact that they felt similar it. There was a reason, determination was a operation to this, and we request to uncover everything astir that.”