Posted on 09/03/2021 9:58:53 AM PDT by RandFan
A public interest group is calling for an ethics investigation into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after he told communications companies that the GOP “will not forget” if they turn phone and email records over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argues that both McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) violated House rules by threatening to retaliate against companies that comply with legal requests.
The House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol sent letters to 35 tech and communications firms Monday asking for a trove of documents, including for personal communications of those involved with the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 — a group likely to include lawmakers.
“If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States,” McCarthy wrote.
“If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law,” he said.
McCarthy did not cite which law prohibits telecommunications companies from complying with the committee’s request.
While communications companies often seek to alert those whose records will be turned over, it's not clear if complying with the request would violate the law given Congress’s investigative authority.
“House rules require members to uphold the laws of the United States and to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House. The threats of Reps. McCarthy and Greene do neither. Threatening retaliation for complying with legally valid document demands and preservation requests appears to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1505, which prohibits obstructing congressional investigations, and does not reflect creditably on the House,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder wrote in a complaint filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Like McCarthy, Greene told Fox News this week that companies would face ramifications for compliance with the requests.
"If these telecommunications companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. And that's a promise," she told Fox's Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.
Greene’s records have reportedly been requested by the committee, according to CNN. The news outlet also found the committee would seek the phone records of GOP Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Jody Hice (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio), whom Republicans once tapped to serve on the committee.
Following McCarthy’s comment, the committee said it would not be deterred in its work.
“The Select Committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and attempt to overturn the results of last year’s election," a committee spokesperson said Tuesday.
"We’ve asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people. The committee’s efforts won’t be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation.”
The Office of Congressional Ethics declined to comment while representatives for McCarthy and Greene did not immediately respond to The Hill.
The question is whether the requests are legal.
Democrats usually issue their threats through surrogates.
Let me respond for Kevin McCarthy (what he’d probably never say): “Go away and shut up. Or just go away.”
Nancy Pelosi hiked up her skirts screaming, “Eeeek! Eeeek!”.
It won’t go anywhere and the Dems won’t get enough Pubs to go along with them to have them expelled.
“sent letters to 35 tech and communications firms Monday”
Is that list publicly available?
In other words Witch Hunts are Illegal.
She doesn't care what her son has to go through.
McCarthy was a jackass.
Whether this is true or not, he could could simply have shut the discussion down by saying: “Show us Pelousy’s comms at that time, first.”
Instead, he makes this into a big leftie talking point.
There is a reason they are called “The Stupid Party.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a Democrat run ans staffed activist organization (During the Trump administration, CREW took over 800 legal actions)
Board Chair
Beth Nolan
Board Vice Chair
Wayne Jordan
Board members
Evan McMullin
The Honorable Claudine Schneider (R RI - environmental activist and likely assistant Democrat)
Zephyr Teachout <-— hahaha
Al Dwoskin
Craig Kaplan
John Luongo
The Honorable Claire McCaskill (D)
McCarthy should have just threatened there are six ways to Sunday for retribution.
Didn’t Chuckie threaten SCOTUS?
That's also how these 501(C,3) agencies get their money.
The complainants, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) were founded to counteract for Judicial Watch.
Much better they change their name to Socialists /Communists Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington would change their abbreviation from CREW to SCCREW .
More appropriate and totally descriptive !
Exactly, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is an organization that stands for anything but that. They only demand ethics and responsibility from Republicans. Democrats can say and do anything and it meets CREWs definition for ethics and responsibility.
Oh, I forgot.....Democrats are ABOVE LAWS and ETHICS! TWO JUSTICE SYSTEMS!!!
I wonder how the demacrat party would feel if all there electronic data was turned over to a committee investigating corruption headed by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
-PJ
So warning entities to comply with the law is now obstruction.
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