Resolution to Declare J6 Committee Illegitimate Moves Forward

(RightWing.org) – A Republican congressman has introduced a House resolution that would declare the controversial January 6 committee illegitimate. If the resolution passes, it would effectively wipe out subpoenas the committee issued against several prominent Republicans. As some of them were later held in contempt of Congress, this could end up overturning their convictions.

On June 19, Representative Eric Burlinson (R-MO) introduced a resolution to the House. The five-page document systematically demolishes the legitimacy of the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack. The committee was set up under the terms of House Resolution 503 — but the House speaker at the time, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), went on to ignore the terms of that resolution.

HR 503 specified that the committee was to have 13 members appointed by the speaker and that five of them had to be picked in consultation with the House minority leader. However, when minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Pelosi a list of names she rejected them all. She then appointed just nine members — seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans — without consulting McCarthy. That, says Burlinson, makes the whole committee illegitimate.

More specifically, Burlinson focuses on the subpoenas issued by the committee. That’s a major issue for Republicans, because four Conservatives, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon, refused to comply with committee subpoenas and were then convicted of being in contempt of Congress. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine.

The problem, Burlinson says, is that HR 503, Section 5 says the committee needed to consult with the House minority leader before issuing subpoenas. This didn’t happen. According to Burlinson, these violations mean the committee was an “unprecedented partisan exercise” to attack Trump and his supporters.

Burlinson’s resolution currently has 24 co-sponsors. GOP legislators are now urging Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to the floor for a vote.