Jan. 6 panel urges ethics review for McCarthy, GOP lawmakers

The Jan. 6 committee said Monday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and three other Republican lawmakers should face ethics investigations for their refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.

The committee issued the subpoenas in May for McCarthy, as well as Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Andy Biggs of Arizona.

None of the Republicans acknowledged the subpoenas, with sought their testimony and documents related to former President Donald Trump. Due to their failure to comply, the committee referred them to the House Ethics Committee.

“This was a significant step, but it was one that was warranted by the certain volume of information these members possessed that was relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation, as well as the centrality of their efforts to President Trump’s multi-part plan to remain in power,” the House committee said.

Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, who also ignored a subpoena from the committee, was not named in the referral. Despite once being a close ally of Trump’s, Brooks recently came out against the former president.

“Donald Trump has proven himself to be dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude and a lot of other things that alienate so many independents and Republicans. Even a candidate who campaigns from his basement can beat him,” Brooks said in November.

While the Jan. 6 committee is made up of mostly Democrats and a couple of left-leaning Republicans, the House Ethics panel is evenly divided between the parties. They will investigate the charges and decide if the individuals should face punishment.