Donald Trump Congressional Allies Under Investigation Over Jan. 6 Capitol Riot [Full Details]

The House Select Committee responsible for investigating the details leading to the horrific and unprecedented Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot has requested testimony from three more pro-Trump GOP lawmakers.

The request was made on Monday, and hopes to figure out more information about the push made by former United States President Donald Trump in regards to the Capitol Hill riot. Congressional investigators sent voluntary interview requests to Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ronny Jackson of Texas, and Mo Brooks of Alabama.

Donald Trump Congressional Allies

However, two of the Republicans, namely Biggs and Johnson, have already opted to turn down the requests later that day. The lawmakers have ample precedent to decline the requests as three other individuals who were previously given the same invitations declined.

The ones who were asked before included House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Jan. 6 committee members are hesitant to issue subpoenas for their congressional colleagues. In a statement, the panel's chair, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and vice-chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming said some of their congressional colleagues had information relevant to the panel's investigation, as per Politico.

The panel's letter to Biggs said that they wanted to question the former leader of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus about the evidence they obtained. Thompson and Cheney said that Biggs' name was identified as a potential participant in the efforts of certain House Republicans to seek a presidential pardon after the Jan. 6 riot.

Thompson and Cheney added that the panel wanted to understand all of the details surrounding the request for a pardon. They emphasized that they were looking into the specific reasons why a pardon was being sought and what it encompassed.

According to the New York Times, the committee also wanted to interview Biggs regarding a Dec. 21, 2020 meeting he attended at the White House with several other Freedom Caucus members. At the event, there was a discussion about a plan where former Vice President Mike Pence would unilaterally refuse to count certain states' certified electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Probe Into the Capitol Hill Riot

Furthermore, the committee was interested in knowing about Ali Alexander, a prominent organizer of so-called "Stop the Steal" rallies tied to far-right members of Congress. Alexander said that he, in coordination with Biggs, Brooks, and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, but the events of the Jan. 6 riot were in motion.

On the other hand, Brooks made statements in March claiming that Trump asked him repeatedly to illegally "rescind" the results of the elections by removing President Joe Biden and forcing a special election.

The situation comes as the Jan. 6 committee wants its upcoming public hearings to be must-see TV, an effort that is jeopardized by new leaked text messages. The conversations reveal how the former president's allies contrived to keep him in power after his defeat against Biden.

Authorities found recordings of House Republican leader McCarthy's private phone calls that showed he was alarmed by Trump's actions around the Capitol Hill riot. Bob Woodward and Robert Costa also published a book that showcased the dubious legal theories that Trump advisers relied on when they tried to overturn the elections, NBC News reported.

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Donald Trump, Capitol Hill