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The petition was portion of a far-reaching acceptable of documents the prime committee sought from 7 national agencies, which suggested the enquiry was focusing connected the erstwhile president’s role.
Aug. 25, 2021, 3:28 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The prime committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot demanded elaborate records connected Wednesday astir Donald J. Trump’s each question and gathering connected the time of the assault, successful a bid of requests to national agencies that suggested it was focusing connected immoderate ties the erstwhile president whitethorn person had to the attack’s readying oregon execution.
The committee’s demands, sent to the National Archives and Records Administration and six different agencies, amusement that arsenic they ramp up their inquiry, investigators are looking intimately astatine efforts by the erstwhile president to overturn the results of the 2020 predetermination and immoderate connections helium oregon his medication had to the rioters.
They are besides looking into the imaginable engagement of astatine slightest 1 apical adjutant to a Republican subordinate of Congress who helped publicize the “Stop the Steal” rallies, which drew Mr. Trump’s supporters to Washington connected Jan. 6 to protestation the predetermination outcome.
The sheet sought communications among apical Trump medication officials astir attempts to spot politically loyal unit successful elder positions arsenic Mr. Trump sought to invalidate President Biden’s triumph successful the run-up to the attack. Investigators are besides focused connected the planning, enactment and backing of pro-Trump rallies connected Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 and different attempts to halt oregon dilatory the process of Mr. Trump handing implicit the presidency to Mr. Biden.
“Our Constitution provides for a peaceful transportation of power, and this probe seeks to measure threats to that process, place lessons learned and urge laws, policies, procedures, rules oregon regulations indispensable to support our Republic successful the future,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the president of the committee, wrote successful the letters.
The committee asked the National Archives, which keeps statesmanlike records, for worldly it has astir immoderate plans hatched from wrong the White House oregon different national agencies to derail the Electoral College ballot number by Congress. The process was halted for hours connected Jan. 6 arsenic a mob of rioters breached the Capitol, hunting for lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence and brutalizing constabulary officers successful the sanction of Mr. Trump.
From the Defense Department and the Justice Department, the committee asked for records of discussions astir perchance invoking the Insurrection Act, which immoderate feared Mr. Trump mightiness usage to deploy the subject to cling to power; communications betwixt authorities entities during the Capitol violence; and exchanges betwixt the Justice Department and Mr. Trump’s run ineligible squad astir challenges to the election’s outcome.
The committee called connected the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. to furnish records of quality gathered earlier the assault; documents astir the Secret Service’s extortion of Mr. Pence and his household arsenic the mob threatened him; and records tracking the dispersed and root of online disinformation astir the election.
The sheet besides sought accusation from the Interior Department astir permitting for the rallies that preceded the mob unit and communications with the U.S. Park Police arsenic the onslaught escalated. And it requested accusation from the National Counterterrorism Center astir briefing materials prepared for elder officials earlier Jan. 6.
The letters kicked disconnected what is expected to beryllium a flurry of records demands the committee plans to contented this week.
Mr. Thompson told reporters that the committee planned to inquire societal media and telecommunications companies to sphere records of perchance “several 100 people,” including respective unidentified members of Congress, arsenic it scrutinizes those who worked to inflame the mob and were successful connection with groups seeking to overturn the election.
“We’ll look astatine everything that volition springiness america accusation connected what happened connected Jan. 6,” Mr. Thompson said connected Capitol Hill this week. “We person rather an exhaustive database of people.”
The enlargement of the prime committee’s probe came aft a proceeding successful July successful which 4 constabulary officers told successful excruciating item of the brutal violence, racism and hostility they suffered as a throng of aggravated rioters beat, crushed and shocked them connected Jan. 6.
After that hearing, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, 1 of 2 Republicans connected the panel, pledged to determination rapidly to uncover immoderate imaginable ties betwixt the rioters and the Trump medication and campaign.
Lawmakers indispensable larn “what happened each infinitesimal of that time successful the White House: each telephone call, each conversation, each gathering starring up to, during and aft the attack,” Ms. Cheney said then.
Among the documents sought connected Wednesday were “all calendars, schedules and question logs regarding meetings oregon events attended by President Trump, including the individuality of immoderate individuals successful attendance, whether virtual oregon in-person, connected Jan. 6, 2021.”
The committee asked for immoderate documents and communications betwixt the White House and immoderate of Mr. Trump’s allies astir progressive successful trying to undermine the election, including Stephen K. Bannon, his erstwhile main strategist; Michael T. Flynn, his erstwhile nationalist information adviser; Rudolph W. Giuliani, who served arsenic his lawyer; and his longtime subordinate Roger J. Stone Jr.
The committee is besides seeking White House communications with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow main enforcement and confidant of Mr. Trump, and the lawyer Sidney Powell, some of whom pushed lies and conspiracy theories astir wide predetermination fraud. And 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, the main of unit to Representative Paul Gosar, the Arizona Republican who helped beforehand them and tried to invalidate electoral votes for Mr. Biden connected Jan. 6.
It besides 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.
The requests indicated the committee planned to analyse Mr. Trump’s unit run connected authorities officials to overturn the results of the election. Among the accusation sought were records from Republican authorities officials including Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia caput of state.
A records request is often the archetypal measurement a legislature committee takes earlier issuing subpoenas to get documents.
The investigative propulsion came arsenic Michael A. Bolton, the Capitol Police inspector general, is continuing his ain interior probe into information failures connected Jan. 6.
In his latest report, a summary of which was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Bolton faulted the agency’s communications during the attack, erstwhile officers accidental their urgent pleas for assistance went unanswered.
The report, based connected interviews with 36 Capitol Police officers, criticized what the inspector wide called “departmentwide bid and power deficiencies related to accusation sharing, concatenation of bid directions, communication, preparedness, training, enactment development, exigency effect procedures and instrumentality enforcement coordination.”
In response, the Capitol Police said successful a connection that the bureau had “acknowledged determination were connection gaps connected Jan. 6.”
“Given the events of Jan. 6, the tremendous magnitude of vigor postulation that time was not surprising,” the connection said. “Additionally, the size and magnitude of Jan. 6 made it hard to respond to each officer’s exigency vigor broadcast successful existent time.”
The section said it had enlisted a retired Secret Service cause to assistance oversee a caller operational readying process.
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