House committee investigating Jan. 6 Capitol riot to seek phone records of lawmakers


The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is preparing to send requests to telecommunications companies, asking that they preserve the phone records of several members of Congress, people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the committee, confirmed with CNN on Monday that letters will be sent to the "major networks" as well as "social media platforms, those kinds of things. I can tell you that we'll look at everything that will give us information on what happened on Jan. 6. We will look at all records at some point."
Thompson would not reveal the names of anyone the committee plans to contact, only saying it's "quite an exhaustive list of people." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have both said they spoke to former President Donald Trump by phone on Jan. 6, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), while wearing body armor, delivered a speech to Trump supporters hours before the Capitol was breached.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jordan told CNN he has "nothing to hide," but added that if the committee asks him to preserve his records, there could be political retribution. Thompson has said he would like to start issuing subpoenas by the end of August.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'
The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job hunters
In The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs report
Speed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks