August 1, 2021

Threat of Subpoenas for Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan Mounts

“I would expect a significant number of subpoenas for a lot of people.”

Bill Clark/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

As Republicans move full steam ahead with their disinformation campaign to completely rewrite the events of January 6, over in the real world, the threat of subpoenas for some of the most high-profile Trump loyalists is mounting. 

On Sunday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of only two Republicans on the select committee to investigate the Capitol attack, backed issuing subpoenas for his fellow Republican members, including for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader who reportedly had an “expletive-laced” phone call with Donald Trump during which the former president refused to call off the hundreds of pro-Trumpers that were storming the Capitol.

“Would you support subpoenas to the Republican leader in the House and to Jim Jordan?” ABC’s Jon Karl asked. 

“I would support subpoenas to anybody who could shed light on that,” Kinzinger said. “If that’s the leader, that’s the leader.”

The Illinois congressman also suggested that the number of people wanted for questioning by the committee would be extensive.

That list is also now likely to include Rep. Jim Jordan after he appeared to uncomfortably confirm that he too spoke with Trump on January 6 during an appearance on Fox News this week. “I speak with the president all the time,” Jordan said when directly asked if he spoke with Trump on January 6. “I spoke with him on January 6th. I mean I talk with President Trump all the time. And that’s, that’s, I don’t think that’s unusual.”

Later, Jordan equivocated even further. “Uh, I’d have to go, I’d, I, I, I spoke with him that day after, I think after,” the Ohio congressman said. “I don’t know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I just don’t know.” 

Beyond speculation over who may be called for questioning, the other big open issue is how the most wanted Republican members of Congress and Trump allies—and there are a lot of them—will react once subpoenas go out. Judging from their extraordinary obstruction of a special commission to investigate January 6, coupled with their boycott of the first congressional hearing into the riot last week, we’re all but certain to see plenty of theatrical opposition.

So then, what happens if a member of Congress refuses a congressional subpoena? We essentially have no idea.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate