Lexi Lonas
The HillThu, 04 Mar 2021 10:07 UTC
© Reuters/Shannon StapletonTakedown at the US Capitol building January 6, 2021
Federal investigators are looking at communications between members of Congress and the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, a U.S. official
told CNN. The investigators, according to CNN, have looked at
communications between alleged rioters discussing their associations with Congress and includes indications of contact with lawmakers.However, it
so far has not found that any lawmakers were involved with the riot or personally helped any of the rioters, the official said.
Authorities have been investigating the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 for months and have been able to arrest hundreds of those involved in the riot that led to the deaths of five people.
Officials are still arresting those who stormed the Capitol but are going to
start focusing on those who planned the attack, who funded them and what connection, if any, lawmakers had.The FBI and Justice Department declined to comment to CNN.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) accused Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) of giving a "large" tour of the Capitol to people a few days before the attack, but no concrete evidence has been released that her tour was linked to the riot.Authorities are now looking at video footage of tours to see if there was any connection between tours and the rioters. If connections are found between rioters and lawmakers, authorities could obtain a warrant to see the communications, CNN reported.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told CNN that he asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the connections as well since he believes it will have an easier time obtaining the information, as lawmakers can stall the FBI's work with the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, which protects members of Congress from lawsuits over speech made during legislative acts.
Republican lawmakers who supported former President Trump's election conspiracy theory claims have been chastised, with Democratic lawmakers believing they had some involvement with or helped incite the riot that occurred.There has been
no evidence so far that a lawmaker had any involvement in the riot and officials are not looking at any one lawmaker at the moment, the official told CNN.
Comment: As accusations fly, the war of deflection continues:
Former President Trump, his eldest son and several of his allies were sued on Friday by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) over their role in the run-up to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
The 65-page complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani of inciting the riot and violating a number of federal and D.C. laws.
Each defendant was among the speakers at a pro-Trump rally that immediately preceded the deadly Capitol breach. The lawsuit depicts the incendiary rally speeches as a tipping point that culminated a months-long disinformation campaign to push the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.
"The horrific events of January 6 were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants' unlawful actions," the complaint states. "As such, the Defendants are responsible for the injury and destruction that followed."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified money damages and asks for a court order requiring Trump and his allies to provide at least a week's notice before holding any future rally in D.C. related to an election.
Among the allegations contained in the nine-count complaint is that defendants conspired to prevent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence from certifying President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris's election win, in violation of a federal civil rights law.
Brooks called Swalwell's lawsuit "frivolous." "Under no circumstances will Swalwell, or any other Socialist, stop me from fighting for America," Brooks said in a statement.
Swalwell's lawsuit comes less than a month after Trump was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial over his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Swalwell, a former county prosecutor in California, served as one of the House impeachment managers in the Senate trial.
Comment: As accusations fly, the war of deflection continues: