Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rodney Davis of Illinois despatched a letter Monday to the Capitol Police demanding particulars on the seven Stephen Colbert staffers charged with unlawfully coming into the Longworth Home Workplace Constructing.
The congressmen requested for all safety footage, images, stories, witness statements, and different supplies “associated to the arrest of people related to ‘The Late Present with Stephen Colbert’ on June 16, 2022.”
“A lot has been made currently about unauthorized entry to Home workplace buildings, together with debunked Democrat allegations that Republican members led so-called reconnaissance excursions of the Capitol Complicated prematurely of January 6,” mentioned the letter to Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.
“In contrast to the Democrat allegations of reconnaissance excursions, nevertheless, the occasions on June 16 really resulted in arrests for illegal entry,” the Republicans mentioned.
The Colbert manufacturing crew members arrived Wednesday on the Capitol to interview a number of Home Democrats, in response to CBS.
The late-night-TV staffers had sought to realize entry to the Jan. 6 choose committee listening to, however had been denied media credentials and shooed away by Capitol Police.
Later, nevertheless, the “people reportedly gained entry again into the constructing via Consultant Adam Schiff, a member of the Home Choose Committee to Examine January 6, and Consultant Jake Auchincloss,” mentioned the GOP letter.
“These people had been arrested and charged with illegal entry after inflicting ‘disturbances’ on the workplaces of a number of Republican members, together with ‘banging’ on their workplace doorways,” the letter mentioned. “The people had been initially within the Capitol Complicated in reference to the actions of the January sixth Choose Committee, however it’s unclear whether or not the Choose Committee had any involvement in or consciousness of those people’ deliberate harassment of Republican workplaces.”
Mr. Schiff, Mr. Auchincloss and Rep. Stephanie Murphy, Florida Democrat, had been interviewed earlier by the manufacturing crew, Fox Information reported.
These arrested and charged embody Robert Smigel, the comic behind the cigar-chomping canine puppet Triumph the Insult Comedian Canine, who seems often on Mr. Colbert’s present.
The Capitol Police responded at 8:30 p.m. Thursday to a disturbance on the Longworth Home Workplace Constructing, which reportedly included banging on the doorways of Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy and Mr. Jordan, the rating Republican of the Home Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Davis is rating member of the Home Administration Committee, which oversees the Capitol Police.
w/@RodneyDavis pic.twitter.com/1cypsZCYwx
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 20, 2022
Mr. Schiff, who serves on the Home choose committee on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” however was not requested in regards to the incident.
The Washington Occasions has reached out to Mr. Schiff and Mr. Auchincloss for remark.
The Jan. 6 choose committee zeroed in final week on Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Georgia Republican, for main a tour the day earlier than the riot that included not less than one one that participated within the march on the Capitol.
Mr. Loudermilk denied main a “reconnaissance tour,” accusing the Jan. 6 committee of a “smear marketing campaign” that has resulted in threats towards himself, his workers and his household.
“As soon as once more, as an alternative of contacting me straight, the committee has launched fastidiously edited and choose info to the press, with the clear intention of making a false narrative in regards to the go to to my workplace by constituents on January 5, 2021. I, my household, and my workers proceed to obtain severe threats of violence,” mentioned Mr. Loudermilk in a Wednesday assertion. “I maintain the J6 committee members and their workers straight accountable for these unfounded accusations and threats.”
CBS launched a press release saying that the Colbert staff’s interviews had been “licensed and pre-arranged via Congressional aides of the members interviewed.”
“After leaving the members’ workplace on their final interview of the day, the manufacturing staff stayed to movie stand-ups and different closing comedy parts within the halls once they had been detained by Capitol Police,” mentioned the community.
The Capitol Police mentioned the incident is below an “energetic legal investigation, and will end in extra legal prices after session with the U.S. Lawyer.”
