Jan. 6 committee studying whether it can subpoena Republican lawmakers

By Reuters Posted on January 2, 2022

FILE PHOTO: Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

By Jan Wolfe

The congressional committee investigating last year’s Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is looking at issuing subpoenas to Republican members of Congress to force their cooperation, the panel’s chairman said on Sunday.

Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that the committee is examining whether it can lawfully issue subpoenas to sitting members of Congress.

“I think there are some questions of whether we have the authority to do it,” Thompson said. “We’re looking at it. If the authorities are there, there’ll be no reluctance on our part.”