Thompson & Cheney Statement on Decision in RNC Litigation

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Bolton, MS & Wilson, WY, May 3, 2022—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) today made the following statement on last night’s decision in the DC District Court in the Republican National Committee’s lawsuit against the Select Committee:

“This decision is an important ruling for democracy and the rule of law. The Court rejected the arguments that the Committee is improperly composed and that our subpoena was improperly issued.  These arguments have been repeated again and again, but they continue to fail in the courts. 

“False allegations that the Select Committee is seeking private information about voters or donors are a smokescreen aimed at keeping critical information hidden.  The committee’s goal is to understand exactly what did happen on January 6th and to prevent it from ever recurring. As Judge Kelly wrote, “Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more important interest for Congress than to preserve its own ability to carry out specific duties assigned to it under the Constitution.”

Background:

Minority Leader McCarthy and other witnesses have repeatedly and falsely claimed the committee is improperly constituted and lacks a legitimate legislative purpose. Just today, House members with information relevant to the committee’s investigation invoked such arguments as an excuse for refusing to cooperate with the committee. Judge Kelly, a President Trump appointee and longtime member of the Federalist Society, rejected those arguments in last night’s decision.

The Select Committee is investigating a violent attack on the Capitol and an attempt to overturn the 2020 Election. Between Election Day 2020 and January 6th, the RNC and the Trump campaign solicited donations by pushing false claims that the election was fraudulent or stolen.  Those claims, in turn, motivated some who participated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In February, the Select Committee issued a subpoena to an email fundraising vendor in order to help investigators understand the impact of false, inflammatory messages in the weeks before January 6th, the flow of funds, and whether contributions were actually directed to the purpose indicated.