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Despite directives from the upcoming House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot seems to have inadequately maintained its records, including video footage.
Reports this week indicate that the retained data is disorganized, with significant portions allegedly destroyed intentionally.
The formation of the committee faced criticism for its perceived lack of bipartisan representation.
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While traditionally House GOP leadership would nominate members, the committee consisted of all Democrats, except for two Republican members known for their opposition to former President Trump: Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
Both faced repercussions for their involvement: Cheney lost her re-election bid to Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), and Kinzinger opted not to run, apparently due to a lack of substantial backing.
Fox News reported that the committee did not correctly preserve important documents, data, and video testimonies. Notably, the missing documents allegedly encompass communications between the Committee and the Biden administration.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), heading the Subcommittee on Oversight for the Committee on House Administration, brought this to light. The Subcommittee has the responsibility of scrutinizing the original committee’s activities after the Republican majority took the House’s helm.
Loudermilk mentioned his team’s challenges in collating information to examine the Democrat-led committee’s measures. He pointed out that standard practices, such as indexing and digitizing data, were not followed.
Loudermilk further explained that they found almost no data from the “Blue Team”, a subgroup mandated to probe the security breaches at the Capitol during the riot. He suggested that the main committee may have shifted its focus primarily to former President Trump, neglecting the security aspect.
Loudermilk further highlighted the disparity in data volume claims between both committees. While Rep. Bernie Thompson (D-MS), the committee’s chair, stated that they handed over 4 terabytes of data, Loudermilk asserted they only received 2.5 terabytes.
A particular point of contention is the purported failure to archive all video recordings of interviews or depositions.
Thompson argued that the written transcripts suffice, but Loudermilk countered, pointing to legal obligations and the use of videos in hearings as reasons they should have been preserved.
As the review continues, there are increasing concerns over missing information on the security failures at the Capitol and the unavailability of deposition videos.
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