House Republicans are starting up a new panel to investigate events leading up to and after January 6, 2021, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed on Wednesday.
A new select subcommittee is being established under the House Judiciary Committee and will be chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who led the counter-probe into the U.S. Capitol breach and the Democrat-led January 6 Committee, leading to a report that demanded further inquiry into its leaders — Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) — for suspected wrongdoing related to data retention and witnesses.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are establishing this Select Subcommittee to continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people. The composition and other details regarding the Select Subcommittee will be announced soon.”
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order on Monday, hours into his second term, granting pardons to about 1,500 criminal defendants related to the January 6 Capitol riot. That move followed former President Joe Biden issuing preemptive pardons to members of the January 6 Committee right before he left office, including Thompson and Cheney, and others. Trump himself faced a criminal prosecutions tied to the 2020 election and January 6, but they faltered after the 2024 presidential contest.
“I am honored to be tasked with continuing the investigation into the events surrounding January 6, 2021, and the failures that led to the breach of the United States Capitol,” Loudermilk said in a statement. “What happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities. I appreciate Speaker Johnson’s commitment to our work, and I am looking forward to working with Chairman Jim Jordan to continue to uncover all the facts and begin the arduous task of making needed reforms to ensure this level of security failure may never happen again.”
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In a statement of his own, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said “Loudermilk has been the leader in getting to the bottom of what the Democrat-led January 6 Committee failed to uncover, and we look forward to helping him bring all the facts to the American people.”
After receiving their pardons, Thompson and Cheney released a joint statement thanking Biden and lamenting how they were being subject to continued scrutiny.
“We express our gratitude to President Biden for recognizing that we and our families have been continuously targeted not only with harassment, lies, and threats of criminal violence but also with specific threats of criminal prosecution and imprisonment by members of the incoming administration, simply for doing our jobs and upholding our oath of office,” the pair said, adding, “We have been pardoned today not for breaking the law but for upholding it.”
