After the House voted on Wednesday to recommend criminal contempt of Congress charges for two former White House aides in relation to the Capitol riot, Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds called the January 6 committee “crooked,” noting that “the only crime” of the aides was their “unyielding support” for the former president.
The House voted 220 to 203, mostly along party lines, to refer criminal contempt charges for former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino Jr., who did not comply with subpoenas issued by the January 6 special committee.
The committee has subpoenaed former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel, former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, as well as January 6 protestors.
“These politically motivated investigations are a shell game for their failed policies, and unfortunately, innocent Americans are paying the hefty price,” Donalds said in a statement Thursday. “The crooked manner by which the 1/6 Committee is conducting business is a disgrace to the integrity of the House of Representatives, and the American people are sick and tired of these political games.”
There were only two Republicans, Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who voted in favor of the contempt charges. Cheney and Kinzinger are members of the special committee and have likened the events on January 6 to an “insurrection.”
Cheney spokesperson Jeremy Adler declined The Daily Wire’s request for comment, noting that the congresswoman “made her position very clear when she spoke on the floor yesterday.” Kinzinger’s press office did not respond to a request for comment.
Prior to the House’s vote, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy slammed the committee’s investigation — calling it a “political show trial.”
“Let me be clear: The riot on Jan. 6 was wrong,” said McCarthy. “But make no mistake: the Democrats’ response is also wrong. Democrats are using the power of the federal government to jail their political opponents.”
In response to McCarthy, Maryland Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin said members of the GOP were employing “circus tactics” and a “conga line” to delay the contempt vote. But Republican Rep. Jim Banks fired back, noting that “Mr. Scavino has two boys” and that jail time was unreasonable.
According to the January 6 committee, Scavino promoted the idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The committee determines that Scavino may have “materials relevant to [Trump’s] videotaping and tweeting” on January 6.
Navarro previously referenced executive privilege upon declining to testify before the committee, saying he “should negotiate this matter with President Trump” and would be “happy to comply” should Trump waive the privilege. The Biden administration waived executive privilege for the Trump aides in February.
“Amid record inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, a war in Eastern Europe, the worsening border crisis, and lawlessness in America’s cities, Democrats are turning their heads away from the real issues facing our nation by inappropriately continuing their fixation with former President Trump through the 1/6 witch-hunt,” Donalds also said, adding that the committee’s “investigation continued to come up short, yet they have no problem spending unnecessary taxpayer funds in hopes of finding a smoking gun.”
The House vote comes on the heels of the first outright acquittal of a January 6 defendant, The Daily Wire reported. Shortly after, Alan Dershowitz, who is representing another defendant charged similarly, told The Daily Wire it was an “enormously important” decision that could sway momentum in his legal team’s direction.