Capitol riot commission seeking phone records of members of congress, report says

The notices are set to go out as soon as this week, the report says

In this 6 Jan 2021 file photo violent insurrectionists hold on to a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The House Select Committee probing the Capitol riots of 6 January will send notices to telecom companies to request phone records of several people, including members of Congress, CNN reported on Monday.

The notices could be sent to the companies by this week, asking them to preserve communication records which can eventually lead to testimony from witnesses, according to the report citing sources.

The committee is also looking to send similar notices to social media companies, suggested Democratic representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Select Committee, without confirming the names of the companies.

He said they intend to issue subpoenas as soon as the end of August and he has already signed a broader investigation strategy for the 6 January Capitol riots.

"We have quite an exhaustive list of people. I won’t tell you who they are. But it’s several hundred people that make up the list of individuals we plan to contact," Mr Thompson told the reporters outside the House Democratic Caucus meeting on Monday.

He said they plan to obtain phone, email, and text records without confirming the names of the members of Congress.

The Mississippi Democrat said they are yet to send out the letters to the companies, confirming that the Committee will contact a wide range of people.

Democrat representative Mikie Sherrill previously said that she witnessed "members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol ... a reconnaissance for the next day."

Calling it suspicious, she raised alarm that some members may have provided "reconnaissance" tours to rioters even as Capitol was closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Several Democrats have also accused Republican leaders of communicating with the alleged rioters before the attack.

Mr Thompsom said that they will look into everything that has the potential to provide them with the information about 6 January, adding that "we will look at all records at some point."

Both Republicans House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and representative Jim Jordan has said they spoke to then-president Donald Trump on phone on the day of the insurrection.

But Mr Jordan said he has “nothing to hide” and warned of political retribution if the committee will investigate records of politicians.

The committee started work on 27 July with an emotional public hearing that  with the testimony from two Capitol Hill and two Washington, DC police officers.