GOP lawmaker reports missing White House correspondence in J6 Committee records.

The House committee assembled​ to investigate the January 6, 2021, riot at the⁢ U.S. Capitol did not properly document and save its ⁢communications or records it‌ collected.

Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, chairman ⁤of the ⁤Subcommittee on Oversight for the Committee on House Administration, is heading a GOP effort to audit the January ⁢6 committee’s‌ findings ⁣but ⁤says his probe has been hampered because‍ of a lack of documentation, according to Fox News. Numerous documents and recordings, as well as the January 6 committee’s communications with the White House, appear to ⁣be missing from the stores of information and ​data left ⁤for Loudermilk to‌ sort ​through.

“It took us a long⁢ time going through it‌ and one thing I started realizing is we don’t have anything much at all from the Blue ⁢Team,” Loudermilk told Fox News, ⁢referencing a⁣ subgroup on the January 6 ​committee tasked with probing security failures. “We’ve⁣ got lots of depositions, we’ve got lots of subpoenas, we’ve got video⁤ and other documents​ provided through subpoenas by individuals. But we’re not‌ seeing anything ⁢from the Blue Team as far as reports on⁤ the investigation ‍they‍ did looking into the ⁤actual breach itself.”

Loudermilk said, based on people ⁣he spoke with, the‌ select committee on January 6 intentionally⁤ did not investigate security failures ⁤that contributed to the riot in ⁤order to focus blame on former President Donald Trump. Former January 6 committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said last month​ that he believes his committee’s work “put significant pressure” on the Department of Justice to indict Trump over January 6.

“I⁢ think up until that point ⁢of ‌the hearings, it ⁢could have ⁢gone either way. ⁢But I think the compelling argument that we ‍made as a ⁣committee ‌for millions of Americans as to how close we came to losing our ​democracy, [the Justice Department] really didn’t … have a choice,” Thompson said.⁣ “And when the special prosecutor was put forth, I think we helped make ‍his case.”

The‌ gaps in the ⁤January 6 committee⁤ records ​came to light after defense attorneys representing clients charged over the riot began requesting ⁤documents‍ and other evidence from Loudermilk for⁢ their cases. The congressman said some of what he was asked for, ⁢he did not have.

Loudermilk relayed his concerns to Thompson, who said ⁤that his committee ⁣turned over all that was required of it, totaling four terabytes of ⁢information. Loudermilk contested that ​claim, saying he had ​only received 2.5 terabytes of data. He also⁢ said that Thompson’s committee violated ‌federal law and admitted as much in ⁤a footnote of a letter Thompson sent‍ Loudermilk on July 7. Thompson has denied⁤ the accusation.

The footnote said ⁣in part: “Consistent with guidance from the Office of the Clerk and other⁤ authorities, the Select ⁢Committee did not archive temporary committee records that were not ‍elevated by the Committee’s actions, such as use in hearings or official ⁣publications,⁢ or those that did not further its investigative activities. Accordingly, and contrary to your letter’s implication, the​ Select Committee was not obligated to archive all video recordings‍ of transcribed ⁤interviews or depositions.”

Loudermilk told Fox News: ‍“It was clear in law they had to especially ​and, I⁣ mean if ⁤there was any question, the fact that they ⁢used the videos⁤ in ​the hearings would dictate that it​ had to‌ be preserved. The more we ⁢go in the more we’re realizing ⁢that there’s things that we don’t have. We don’t have anything about security failures at the Capitol, we don’t have the videos of the depositions.”

The Georgia Republican also discovered ⁤that missing from the January 6 files are an unknown number ​of communications sent between the committee and the White House. Loudermilk made the discovery when he obtained‌ a letter sent from ‌Thompson to the White ‌House and the Department of Homeland Security ​(DHS)⁢ that was not included in the committee’s files.

“No version of the letter to Mr. Sauber — either redacted or unredacted — or the letter‍ to the DHS General​ Counsel was archived by the Select Committee or provided to this Committee,” Loudermilk wrote in a letter to ​Thompson.

The January 6 committee ‍was largely a Democratic effort, except for former Republican Reps. Liz Cheney of‍ Wyoming and​ Adam Kinzinger of Illinois,⁣ who joined the committee after Republican ‍leader Kevin McCarthy refused to⁣ countenance the committee over restrictions on ⁣which Republicans could join.

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