REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
- The January 6 select committee will vigorously probe Trump, Rep. Bennie Thompson said.
- Thompson, the committee's chair, told the Guardian that "nothing is off limits" for the panel.
- The committee will investigate Trump's call with McCarthy on the day of the Capitol riot and could issue subpoenas to former Trump officials.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The House select committee probing the Capitol insurrection on January 6 is kicking off its efforts this month with plans to investigate former President Donald Trump and potentially issue subpoenas to former high-ranking Trump officials.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee's chairman, told the Guardian in a recent interview that "nothing is off limits" when it comes to what the panel will investigate and what testimony they'll seek, especially pertaining to Trump's actions leading up to and during the deadly insurrection.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposed the select committee after Republicans in the Senate filibustered legislation to create an independent, bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to probe the January 6 insurrection.
The committee has 13 members including Thompson: seven Democrats and six Republicans, including ousted House GOP caucus chair Liz Cheney, who was appointed to the panel by Pelosi. The group will hold its first hearing on July 27, with multiple law enforcement officials slated to testify.
The committee, Thompson said, will also get to the bottom of what was discussed in Trump's phone call with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on January 6, when, according to reports, McCarthy begged Trump to step in and do something to quell the riots.
"There will not be a reluctance on the part of the committee to pursue it," Thompson told the Guardian about the call. "The committee will want to know if there is a record of what was said."
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The committee will also try to zero in on what other conversations Trump may have had with lawmakers that day, he added.
"If somebody spoke to the president on January 6, I think it would be important for our committee to know what was said. I can't imagine you talk about anything else to the president on January 6," Thompson said to the Guardian.
There's even the possibility of compelling testimony from individuals close to the president on January 6, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump's daughter and then-White House advisor Ivanka Trump, Thompson added.
And if former officials resist congressional subpoenas, "we will pursue it in court," Thompson told the Guardian.