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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
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.
-
The 'secretive and strange' battle for the most powerful role in sport
Under The Radar Sebastian Coe among the contenders as the International Olympic Committee gathers to choose its next president
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Music reviews: Lady Gaga, Jason Isbell, and Astropical
Feature “Mayhem,” “Foxes in the Snow,” and “Astropical”
By The Week US Published
-
Art review: Christine Sun Kim: All Day All Night
Feature Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, through July 6
By The Week US Published
-
Trump purports to 'void' Biden pardons
Speed Read Joe Biden's pardons of Jan. 6 committee members are not valid because they were done by autopen, says Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Do rowdy town halls signal a GOP backlash?
Today's Big Question Some remorse, but Trump backers would not change their votes
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
White House ignores judicial deportation blocks
Speed Read The Trump administration deports alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, defying a court order
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobs
Speed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published