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GOP seeks to prevent Archives handling of Jan. 6 document trove

January 3, 2023 Published by

Just In | The Hill 

In the days before its work officially came to a close, the Jan. 6 committee released thousands of pages of witness interviews and evidence. But a portion of the House rules package proposed by Republicans singles out the panel’s work, seeking to block the records from being managed by the National Archives.

The GOP rules package would require Archives to turn over any of the committee’s work to the House Committee on Administration by Jan. 17 – sidestepping a requirement that would prohibit their release for at least 30 years.

It is unusual for House rules to address one committee – a sign Republicans may wish to do more to rebut the work of the Jan. 6 panel after the GOP released its own report on security failures at the Capitol the day of the riot.

The rules package will be weighed after a contentious vote to determine whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will serve as House Speaker. 

McCarthy as recently as November flagged GOP interest in the documents.

“The official Congressional Records do not belong to you or any member, but to the American people, and they are owed all of the information you gathered — not merely the information that comports with your political agenda,” he wrote in a letter to Jan. 6 Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Existing House rules already name the House Committee on Administration as the custodian of records, but preventing their handling by Archives also dodges rules that allow for withholding documents for up to 50 years if they deal with a sensitive investigation. That portion of the GOP rules proposal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The Jan. 6 committee has pledged to make public the bulk of its work from its 18-month long investigation into the riot, but Thompson told reporters that some records would be withheld based on arrangements with those who requested their identity remain protected.

Other information set to be transferred to Archives includes video of the taped depositions, much of which was not released publicly during the panel’s hearings, as well as thousands of text messages from various figures obtained by subpoena.

The issue was highlighted in a letter from Thompson to Richard Sauber, a White House lawyer hired as the point-man for dealing with GOP investigations.

“As of next week when the Committee dissolves, the Committee will no longer exercise control over this material, and thus cannot ensure enforcement of the commitment to maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the witnesses,” Thompson wrote.

Staff for both Democrats and Republicans on the House Committee on Administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The committee has stored a trove of its documents through a website managed by the Government Printing Office. 

“We have posted the vast majority of our transcripts on our website, and asked agencies concerned about special security issues to review those transcripts that have not been public,” Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in a Monday statement capping the close of the committee’s work. “We trust that history will continue to illuminate more details of January 6th and its aftermath.”

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