The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a new round of subpoenas Monday that targeted Trump ally Roger Stone and far-right radio host Alex Jones.
The panel is demanding documents and testimony from these two men and three others who the panel alleges were involved in organizing and promoting rallies that were a prelude to the Jan. 6 riot.
“The Select Committee is seeking information about the rallies and subsequent march to the Capitol that escalated into a violent mob attacking the Capitol and threatening our democracy,” said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who is chairman of the committee. “We need to know who organized, planned, paid for, and received funds related to those events, as well as what communications organizers had with officials in the White House and Congress.”
The committee said Alex Jones helped organize and fund the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse. The panel also said Mr. Jones “has repeatedly promoted unsupported allegations of election fraud” and has “knowledge about the plans of the former President with respect to the rally.”
Mr. Stone is sought by the committee for speaking at a rally in Washington on Jan. 5 and for allegedly soliciting “support to pay for security” in connection with the rally on stopthesteal.org. The committee also said Mr. Stone contracted members of the Oath Keepers to provide personal security at the rally.
A member of the Oath Keepers has been indicted for his involvement in the attack on the Capitol.
Also named in the subpoenas were Dustin Stockton and his fiancé Jennifer Lawrence. The committee alleged that they helped organize “a series of rallies” following the November election aimed at “advancing unsupported claims about the election’s outcome.”
The committee is also seeking documents and testimony from Taylor Budowich, who was a senior White House advisor to Mr. Trump. The committee said Mr. Budowich was behind a “social media and radio advertising campaign encouraging attendance at the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse.” The committee said the campaign also advanced false election fraud claims.
Monday’s subpoenas follow a string of similar demands for documents and testimony from officials inside the Trump administration.
The committee has issued more than 20 subpoenas and interviewed more than 150 witnesses, some of whom were officials in the Trump administration who came forward voluntarily
The new round of subpoenas comes as the committee continues to battle with key witnesses who refuse to cooperate with the investigation and cite the former president’s claims of executive privilege.
Mr. Trump sued the committee last month over its sweeping request for the release of White House documents related to the Jan. 6 probe.
His legal team said in the lawsuit that the House committee has “no legitimate legislative purpose” for its request. They also press the claim that, as a former president, Mr. Trump enjoys “inherent constitutional rights of privilege.”
Mr. Trump‘s initial request for an injunction to halt the National Archive’s release of the records was denied in U.S. district court. A federal appeals court later granted Mr. Trump an emergency motion to pause the release as his legal team appeals the decision.
Earlier Monday, the committee told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that further delays in releasing Mr. Trump‘s White House records would inflict a “serious constitutional injury” and interfere with the committee’s “legislative duty.”
Oral arguments are scheduled for next week in Mr. Trump‘s ongoing lawsuit to block the National Archives from releasing documents to the panel.
“The Select Committee‘s work is of the highest importance and urgency: It is investigating one of the darkest episodes in our Nation’s history, a deadly assault on the United States Capitol, the Vice President, and Congress, and an unprecedented disruption of the peaceful transfer of power,” Mr. Letter wrote the court.
Mr. Trump’s case has become a thorn in the committee‘s side as it attempts to compel key witnesses to provide documents and testimony.
Last month, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon failed to appear for a scheduled deposition. He also cited Mr. Trump’s assertion of executive privilege.
The panel voted unanimously to refer charges to the Justice Department, and Mr. Bannon was later indicted on two counts of criminal contempt.
Earlier this month, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows failed to appear for a deposition, and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark refused to answer questions while appearing before the committee. Both cited Mr. Trump‘s lawsuit as justification for not cooperating.
“The former president’s clear objective is to stop the Select Committee from getting to the facts about January 6th,” Mr. Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who is co-chair of the committee, said in a statement last month.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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