Select Committee on the January 6 Attack
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| Select Committee on the January 6 Attack | |
|---|---|
| Name | Select Committee on the January 6 Attack |
| Established | July 1, 2021 |
| Jurisdiction | United States House of Representatives |
| Chair | Benny Thompson |
| Vice chair | Liz Cheney |
| Members | Bennie Thompson; Liz Cheney; Adam Kinzinger; Elaine Luria; Adam Schiff; Jamie Raskin; Stephanie Murphy; Zoe Lofgren; Pete Aguilar; Jamie Raskin; Susan Wild; Adam Schiff; Tom Malinowski |
| Staff | professional staff |
| Report | Final Report (2022) |
Select Committee on the January 6 Attack was a United States House of Representatives select committee formed to investigate the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol and related events. The committee held hearings, issued subpoenas, compiled evidence, and produced a final report detailing findings about the breach of the Capitol, the role of political actors, and recommendations for preventing future violence. Its work intersected with litigation, Department of Justice inquiries, and public debates involving politicians, media outlets, and law enforcement agencies.
Background and Formation
The committee was created after the assault on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, an event that followed a series of events including the 2020 United States presidential election and post-election litigation led by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell. Bipartisan negotiations in the House of Representatives involved Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and committee precedent from the House Administration Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. The resolution to establish the select committee reflected tensions between congressional investigative practice exemplified by the Watergate Committee, the Congressional inquiry into the Benghazi attacks, and the House January 6 Committee’s mandate to collect testimony, subpoenas, and documents from federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security.
Membership and Structure
House leadership appointed chair Bennie Thompson and vice chair Liz Cheney to lead a panel that included members from the Democratic caucus and Republican appointments. The committee’s structure mirrored select committees like the House Select Committee on Intelligence with subcommittees and staff counsel drawn from career staff and former investigators with backgrounds in the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and congressional oversight offices. Membership controversies arose around McCarthy’s recommended Republican members—Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs, and others—and subsequent replacements including Adam Kinzinger due to disputes over subpoena authority and investigative scope. The committee employed counsel, investigative teams, and coordination with the Architect of the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Department.
Investigations and Evidence
Investigations assembled documentary evidence, witness testimony, communications metadata, and social media content from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Parler. Subpoenas targeted former White House staff including Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller, and Kayleigh McEnany, as well as advisers like Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman. The committee worked with agencies including the National Archives, Library of Congress, and Office of the Inspector General to obtain presidential records and correspondence, and it reviewed transcripts from testimony provided by figures such as Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Christopher Wray, and Richard Barnett. Analysts compiled video, audio, and geolocation data corroborated by investigative journalism from outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Hearings and Public Proceedings
The committee conducted public hearings that featured testimony, exhibits, and expert analysis, livestreamed to networks and digital platforms. Key televised sessions presented evidence including phone records, email chains, and contemporaneous communications involving Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and John Eastman. Witnesses such as Cassidy Hutchinson, Officer Harry Dunn, and Capitol security officials provided firsthand accounts alongside presentations by legal experts and historians comparing the events to previous crises like the 2000 United States presidential election controversies and the January 6 breach’s relation to political violence discourse. The hearings prompted live coverage by CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and policy commentary from think tanks like Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation.
Findings and Final Report
The committee issued a final report documenting conclusions about coordination, misinformation, and failures in security preparations involving the Department of Defense, Pentagon leadership, and Capitol Police. The report examined actions by Donald Trump, his advisers, and allied political operatives including Roger Stone and Steve Bannon, assessing intent and the impact of public statements. It drew comparisons to precedents such as impeachment inquiries and special counsel investigations, and it recommended legislative and administrative reforms for the Electoral Count Act, National Guard deployment protocols, and continuity of government measures. The report was distributed to congressional leaders, the Department of Justice, and archivists at the National Archives.
Legal Actions and Referrals
The committee issued criminal referrals and civil subpoenas, referring evidence to the Department of Justice and recommending charges including obstruction of an official proceeding against individuals such as Donald Trump. It authorized subpoenas enforced through litigation in federal courts including cases adjudicated by judges on the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court precedents. Compliance battles involved privileges asserted by White House counsel and litigation invoking presidential immunity, executive privilege claims associated with Donald Trump and former aides, and contempt referrals for noncompliance leading to arrests and prosecutions in federal court.
Reactions and Impact
Reactions spanned political, media, and legal arenas with responses from Republicans including Kevin McCarthy and House Freedom Caucus members, and from Democrats including Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden. Media coverage by The Wall Street Journal, Politico, and national broadcasters shaped public discourse alongside commentary from scholars at Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, and Columbia University. The committee’s work influenced subsequent congressional oversight, reforms to the Electoral Count Act championed by senators such as Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, and ongoing Department of Justice prosecutions; it also affected electoral politics in the 2022 midterms and debates about accountability, presidential power, and election integrity.