The U.S. House of Representatives committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol deleted more than 100 files before Republicans took the majority in the lower chamber, according to newly disclosed documents.
A forensic analysis of hard drives archived by the now-disbanded, Democrat-dominated committee uncovered digital records that weren’t given to the House clerk, the House Administration Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee said in new letters to top officials.
“Our subcommittee has recently determined that 117 files were both deleted and encrypted,” a spokesman for Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the subcommittee, told The Epoch Times via email.
The encryption means that many of the recovered files are password-protected and cannot be accessed at this time, Mr. Loudermilk told Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) in a letter dated Jan. 18. Mr. Thompson was chairman of the House’s Jan. 6 select committee.
“In order to access these files and ensure they are properly archived, I ask that you provide a list of passwords for all password-protected files created by the select committee,” Mr. Loudermilk wrote.
Mr. Thompson’s spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The committee wrapped up its work near the end of 2022, around the time Republicans flipped control of the House. The committee’s authorization expired at the end of the session just before the GOP gained control in early 2023.
Mr. Loudermilk, whose subcommittee is investigating Jan. 6, 2021, and events related to the breach of the Capitol, said in late 2023 that tapes of depositions conducted by the select committee had vanished.
Mr. Thompson confirmed in a letter that the tapes weren’t preserved.
“He didn’t feel that they had to,” Mr. Loudermilk said, although House rules required the preservation of the records, the lawmaker said.
“You wrote that you sent specific transcribed interviews and depositions to the White House and Department of Homeland Security but did not archive them with the clerk of the House. You also claimed that you turned over 4-terabytes of digital files, but the hard drives archived by the select committee with the clerk of the House contain less than 3-terabytes of data,” Mr. Loudermilk said in the new letter.
That difference in data prompted the forensic analysis that led to the recovery of digital records.
One of the files showed the identity of an individual whose testimony wasn’t archived by the select committee, Mr. Loudermilk said.
“The former J6 Select Committee went to great lengths to prevent Americans from seeing all the evidence produced in their investigation,” he said in a statement. “Our subcommittee has recovered over 100 deleted & encrypted files. What else were they trying to hide?”
White House, DHS Records
Mr. Loudermilk also is seeking records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House.In a letter to DHS lawyer Jonathan Meyer, Mr. Loudermilk said he wants the return of all records that were provided to the DHS by the select committee, including unredacted transcripts of depositions.
The records were said to include depositions of a number of Secret Service agents, including agents who were with or near former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
“If you continue to refuse to return these records, I will have no other choice than to take steps to compel you to return these records,” Mr. Loudermilk said. “Once these records, including transcripts of testimonies from Secret Service agents and employees, have been returned in their original, unaltered format, then I am willing to discuss any redactions you believe are necessary prior to these records being released publicly.”
DHS didn’t deny that it is withholding the records.
“DHS responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels, and the department will continue to respond appropriately to congressional oversight,” a spokesperson for the agency told The Epoch Times via email.
In a third missive, to White House counsel Richard Sauber, Mr. Loudermilk said the White House sent over four transcripts from testimony given by White House employees to the select committee.
However, the transcripts “were redacted so extensively that not even individuals’ names or key details are reflected on the transcripts,” he wrote. “This is unacceptable.”
While Mr. Sauber said in a previous letter that he had the authority to withhold the records, House rules in place during the time the select committee was active state that House records “are the permanent property of the House and remain subject to this rule and any order of the House.”
Mr. Loudermilk threatened to take steps to compel the production of the unredacted transcripts if Mr. Sauber doesn’t send them. He said that negotiations were possible on redactions to the versions that will be released to the public.
The White House didn’t respond to an inquiry.
