Politics

Report: House Jan. 6 Committee Deleted Files Days Before GOP Took Majority

JAN 22 2024·Updated FEB 7 2024

Story

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The Facts

The former House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots — then led by Democrats — allegedly "deleted" upwards of 100 folders and a terabyte of data from legislators days before Republicans took over the majority in the House of Representatives, according to a Fox News report on Monday. Citing sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry now led by Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), a total of 117 files were said to be deleted and encrypted by Democrats on Jan. 1, 2023.
FOX News
According to the sources, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the former select committee, told Loudermilk that four terabytes of archived data would be turned over when the panel changed hands. Ultimately, the sources said, only around 2 terabytes of data was given.
FOX News
This prompted House Committee Republicans to hire forensic investigators to look at the files and to search for what was believed to be missing. Fox News reported that investigators "recovered all 117 deleted and encrypted files," but that many of those remain password-protected.
FOX News
Since then, Loudermilk has written to Thompson requesting passwords in order to access the data. Loudermilk also noted that the recovered files appeared to show a number of interviews and depositions, including by members of the White House Counsel's Office and the Department of Homeland Security, that were not archived with the House clerk as required. He has written follow-up letters to both departments asking for "unedited and unredacted transcripts" of these testimonies.
New York Post
Meanwhile, two Republican committee members said to the New York Post that reports of Loudermilk's discovery were accurate. "Yes, these reports are accurate," said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), continuing, "Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot determine what was in the deleted files." Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said: "The Democrat-led J6 Select Committee obviously took great strides to shield certain information from us. The question is why?"
New York Post
This comes as a poll published earlier this month found that Republicans have softened their stance on Jan. 6, with Loudermilk leading their efforts to cast doubts on the allegedly biased final report published by the then-Democrat-led Select Committee.
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The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Given that their goal was never to elucidate what actually happened that day, but to damage Trump's reputation and defeat him, it's no wonder that the Jan. 6 Select Committee encrypted and deleted so many files. Should these documents ever be recovered, they will show that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her allies are those responsible for the escalation of the riot, as she rejected an offer Trump made to enhance security.

FOX News

Anti-Trump narrative

The House GOP is merely reviving an already debunked story to try to discredit the probe into the Jan. 6 riot. Former Chair Bennie Thompson explained in July that the alleged missing material was, in fact, withheld from the archives to protect witnesses as the committee was disbanded before a full review of its sensitivity. As for Trump's claims, there's no indication that any material concerns his professed offer to former Speaker Pelosi.