GOP Representative Barry Loudermilk from Georgia disclosed that House Speaker Mike Johnson assured him that his inquiry into the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol will be “formalized as a new committee.” This initiative is part of a broader strategy by Republicans to pursue several investigations initiated during the last Congress, now that they hold the majority in both chambers and the presidency.
Loudermilk informed CNN that the specifics of the new committee are still under consideration, with one possibility being that Johnson will have increased influence over the selection of its members (designated as a “select committee”) and its operational procedures. Establishing a new committee to emphasize Loudermilk’s efforts, which included a report recommending that former GOP Representative Liz Cheney face charges from the FBI, serves to maintain the Republican narrative aimed at shielding President-elect Donald Trump from accountability for the events of January 6.
“It was so singularly focused that basically Trump created this entire problem,” Loudermilk remarked regarding the previous January 6 select committee led by Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney. “When in reality, it was a multitude of failures at different levels.” Johnson has publicly affirmed that the new investigation into January 6 will be “fully funded.”
According to CNN, continuing the investigation into the former January 6 select committee—which included Cheney as vice chair and another Republican member—along with a broader examination of the security response to the Capitol attack, is not the sole approach Republicans intend to adopt in leveraging their new majority to advance politically sensitive investigations.
Republicans have reissued subpoenas concerning special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s management of classified documents, as well as two Justice Department tax investigators involved in the Hunter Biden case, according to two sources familiar with the situation, as reported by CNN. These subpoenas aim to revive efforts initiated by the previous Congress, which have been contested in court and remain unresolved after several months.
California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff addressed the January 6 committee this week, discussing reports that President Biden was contemplating a pardon for himself, former Vice President Cheney, and others. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Schiff expressed his opposition to Biden setting a “precedent” by granting a preemptive pardon to himself and others associated with the January 6 committee’s work.
“It would be an inappropriate precedent to establish. I do not wish to see future presidents, as they leave office, issuing broad categories of pardons,” Schiff stated. When asked about the possibility of a more specific pardon, he replied, “Speaking solely for myself, those of us on the January 6 committee, who have been targeted by President-elect Trump, take great pride in our efforts. We stand by our work and believe we are protected by the Speech and Debate Clause. Therefore, my personal view is that we should avoid setting such a broad precedent.”
Schiff refrained from explicitly stating that he would reject a potential pardon if it were offered, instead urging Biden not to pursue that course of action. Some members of the Democratic Party have suggested that before Biden concludes his term at the end of the month, he should consider pardoning individuals who may be targeted by Trump and his administration.
“We find ourselves once again in a dilemma where a Democratic president may take actions for commendable, justifiable reasons—specifically, to protect individuals from unwarranted threats posed by an incoming president—yet such a precedent could be misused,” Schiff remarked during his appearance on CNN on Monday.
