US: Top House Republicans subpoenaed by Capitol riot panel

A special committee of the US House of Representatives handed out subpoenas to five Republican lawmakers on Thursday, including the current leader of the party in the legislature. 

"The Select Committee has learned that several of our colleagues have information relevant to our investigation into the attack on January 6th and the events leading up to it," said committee chairman, Democrat Bennie Thompson.

The subpoenas were handed to Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, along with fellow party members Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks.

They have all previously declined to voluntarily appear before the special committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack.

After the announcement, McCarthy told reporters he had "not seen a subpoena" and that his opinion of the investigation has not changed since he was asked to cooperate earlier this year. 

"They're not conducting a legitimate investigation,'' McCarthy said. "Seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.''

At the center of the investigation is whether former president Donald Trump, his staff and advisors knowingly encouraged or helped organize the uprising, where hundreds of the former president's supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to stop lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden as winner of the November 2020 election.

Five people died in the ensuing violence and scores of police were injured, as the joint session of Congress was canceled and the certification process was delayed by several hours.

Public hearings to begin next month

The January 6 panel, led by Democrats, has said that McCarthy was in contact with Trump before, during and after the attack.

Meanwhile, the other members have been linked to Trump and the events running up to the storming of the Capitol, including the spreading false claims that Trump won the election.

"We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done," Thompson said.

Public hearings on the panel's findings are expected to begin next month.

Some 810 people have been arrested and charged over their participation in the January 6 riot. Most of them have been charged with minor crimes, such as illegally entering a federal building, while 255 faced heavier charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.

jcg/wmr (AP, AFP)