By Matthew Torres
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol made a significant step in its investigation this week when the committee announced the subpoena of five Republican members of Congress.
This step was made following the refusal of cooperation from these members.
According to The Washington Post, the list of those being subpoenaed includes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Mo Brooks, Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, and Andy Biggs.
The committee is attempting to find potential communication regarding the attack between the members of congress and then President Donald Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Although all five Republican congressmen were asked to voluntarily discuss the matters, they have all refused.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss), chairman of the committee, said, “we urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our 
investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done.”
The committee so far has conducted 995 depositions and interviews, had 470 tips received via a tip line, and recorded 125,000 documents, many regarding some lawmakers’ roles in the attack.
Despite the stacking evidence, these congressmen have all expressed their scorn for the committee – McCarthy told reporters, “they’re not conducting a legitimate investigation. It seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.”
The congressman from Arizona, Andy Biggs, when interviewed on Fox News, claimed that the committee doesn’t “really have the authority to issue subpoenas.”
Alabama Rep. Brooks went as far as to call the committee the “witch hunt committee” and continued to parrot the claim the 2020 election was stolen.
One of the members of the panel, Rep. Liz Cheney (R), told reporters that the decision to issue subpoenas was not taken lightly, stating, “it’s a reflection of how important and serious the investigation is and how grave the attack on the Capitol was.”
According to The Washington Post, other members of Congress don’t want to discuss the possibility of contempt if the subpoenas are not met with compliance.
Rather they’re remaining optimistic and Rep. Jamie B. Raskin hopes, “every member of Congress will want to do their legal duty to participate in an investigation into an attack on our own institution and an attack on the political institutions in the United States.”
