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The House Judiciary Committee issued a demand to compel testimony from four current and former Department of Justice officials who were involved in requests to obtain phone-number records of several members of Congress as part of the investigation into the January 6, 2021 events – a day before Republicans began questioning former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The plans to question the DOJ leaders – Raymond Halzer, Kenneth Polite, Timothy Dura, and Molly Gaston – broaden the Republican-led probe, which concerns the federal inquiries into Donald Trump between his two terms in office. This expansion fits into a broader effort by Trump supporters to claim that the Biden administration has been used against conservatives.
“We believe you possess information vital to our constitutional oversight powers.”
In letters provided by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, Gaston wrote on May 17, 2023: “I write to consult with PIN regarding several narrowly tailored subpoenas we plan to issue for the records of telephone numbers belonging to members of Congress.”
“I write to consult with PIN regarding several narrowly tailored subpoenas we plan to issue for the records of telephone numbers belonging to members of Congress.”
“Our investigation indicates that, around January 6, 2021, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani reached out to these members to request or pressure them to delay certifying the electoral votes – in some cases on the night of January 6, an hour before Congress reconvened its joint session after the attack on the Capitol,” Gaston wrote in her email, justifying the subpoenas.
“Our investigation indicates that, around January 6, 2021, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani approached these members to ask them to or pressure them to delay certifying the electoral votes – specifically, on the night of January 6, an hour before Congress reconvened its joint session after the attack on the Capitol.”
In response, Raymond Halzer replied several times in Gaston’s email chain: “Approved. Thanks for that.”
“Approved. Thanks for that.”
Senate Reaction and Next Steps
In October 2023, Senate Republicans said the FBI, as part of Smith’s investigation into the January 6 events, used court orders in 2023 to obtain the phone records of nine Republican lawmakers: Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Marsha Blackburn, and Representative Mike Kelly.
Jordan, who leads this investigation and is due to meet Smith on Wednesday for a closed deposition, said in November that his own phone records from the past two years were also obtained in the Smith investigation.
Smith himself is to testify in Congress in private about his cases against Trump regarding attempts to challenge the 2020 election results and allegedly improper storage of classified documents. The former special counsel terminated both cases in November 2024, shortly after Trump won the election, but noted that the dismissal of charges does not excuse Trump’s actions.
Deposition – the result of months of deliberation – was not Smith’s only option: he had previously expressed a desire to testify publicly, to appear at open hearings, citing “numerous mischaracterizations” of his investigations.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee continue pressing the U.S. Department of Justice to release the second part of Smith’s final report on likely mishandling of classified materials, which remains under seal.
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The House Judiciary Committee issued a demand to compel testimony from four current and former Department of Justice officials who were involved in requests to obtain phone-number records of several members of Congress as part of the investigation into the January 6, 2021 events – a day before Republicans began questioning former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The plans to question the DOJ leaders – Raymond Halzer, Kenneth Polite, Timothy Dura, and Molly Gaston – broaden the Republican-led probe, which concerns the federal inquiries into Donald Trump between his two terms in office. This expansion fits into a broader effort by Trump supporters to claim that the Biden administration has been used against conservatives.
“We believe you possess information vital to our constitutional oversight powers.”
In letters provided by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, Gaston wrote on May 17, 2023: “I write to consult with PIN regarding several narrowly tailored subpoenas we plan to issue for the records of telephone numbers belonging to members of Congress.”
“I write to consult with PIN regarding several narrowly tailored subpoenas we plan to issue for the records of telephone numbers belonging to members of Congress.”
“Our investigation indicates that, around January 6, 2021, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani reached out to these members to request or pressure them to delay certifying the electoral votes – in some cases on the night of January 6, an hour before Congress reconvened its joint session after the attack on the Capitol,” Gaston wrote in her email, justifying the subpoenas.
“Our investigation indicates that, around January 6, 2021, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani approached these members to ask them to or pressure them to delay certifying the electoral votes – specifically, on the night of January 6, an hour before Congress reconvened its joint session after the attack on the Capitol.”
In response, Raymond Halzer replied several times in Gaston’s email chain: “Approved. Thanks for that.”
“Approved. Thanks for that.”
Senate Reaction and Next Steps
In October 2023, Senate Republicans said the FBI, as part of Smith’s investigation into the January 6 events, used court orders in 2023 to obtain the phone records of nine Republican lawmakers: Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Marsha Blackburn, and Representative Mike Kelly.
Jordan, who leads this investigation and is due to meet Smith on Wednesday for a closed deposition, said in November that his own phone records from the past two years were also obtained in the Smith investigation.
Smith himself is to testify in Congress in private about his cases against Trump regarding attempts to challenge the 2020 election results and allegedly improper storage of classified documents. The former special counsel terminated both cases in November 2024, shortly after Trump won the election, but noted that the dismissal of charges does not excuse Trump’s actions.
Deposition – the result of months of deliberation – was not Smith’s only option: he had previously expressed a desire to testify publicly, to appear at open hearings, citing “numerous mischaracterizations” of his investigations.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee continue pressing the U.S. Department of Justice to release the second part of Smith’s final report on likely mishandling of classified materials, which remains under seal.
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