Ex-lawmakers request ethics probes into sitting members of Congress linked to Jan. 6

More than 30 former House lawmakers are calling for ethics investigations into sitting members of Congress “who played a role” in the events on the day of and before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, arguing that elected officials involved with the riot “must be held accountable.” In an open letter first shared with The Hill, the group — which includes 36 former House members from both parties — is calling on sitting lawmakers in the lower chamber to “demand that the Office of Congressional Ethics thoroughly investigate” members linked to the Capitol riot. If necessary, the ex-lawmakers write, they also want the House to “exercise its disciplinary functions.” “As is now clear, January 6th was only one event among many that together constituted an extraordinary campaign to overturn an election,” the letter reads. “The scale and audacity of the campaign is profoundly troubling.”

“Among the most alarming findings is that various members of Congress participated in it,” the former lawmakers added. The letter, which will be posted on Medium Saturday, does not name specific lawmakers who should be subject to investigation, but it does reference a number of allegations that have been linked to members through media reporting and the probe conducted by the House select committee investigating Jan. 6. “We now know, for example, that sitting lawmakers corresponded and met with White House officials and allies to plot various prongs of the campaign, including to advocate that the president declare martial law; that states submit false certificates of electoral votes to Congress; that the vice president, in contravention of his constitutional duties, interfere with the counting of electoral votes; and that federal law enforcement authorities be enlisted to interfere with the election; among other startling facts. We also now know that various sitting lawmakers sought presidential pardons,” the letter reads. At its hearing in June, the Jan. 6 select committee named six House Republican lawmakers who requested pardons or contacted officials regarding pardons after voting to overturn election results in states the day of the riot: Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.).