Rep. Barry Loudermilk during a House hearing on July 19, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images )
Among its key findings, the report stated that the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was designed "to promote a political narrative" reportedly at the direction of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to refuse to appoint minority members chosen by the minority to the Select Committee. They hired Hollywood producers to assist with their primetime hearings. They refused to adopt rules, allowing them to operate without limits, to project their predetermined narrative to the world," the report’s key findings page states.
LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC'
Vice Chair Liz Cheney speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, holds a hearing on Capitol Hill, Oct. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Loudermilk’s report argued that Cheney’s position was reserved for a Democrat, and that she should not have served as vice chair.
"Cheney was not the minority ranking member but served as Vice Chair of the Select Committee – a position under House Rules for a member of the same party as the Chair. Pelosi appointed Cheney to the Select Committee as one of Pelosi’s eight majority appointments to the Select Committee. Former Select Committee staff members spoke out against Cheney’s insistence that the Select Committee focus on President Trump," the report’s key findings found.
Republicans have long claimed that the committee was improperly constructed, including in a court case in 2022, when a federal judge appointed by Trump validated the Jan. 6 committee's investigative pursuits, including allowing the committee to obtain Republican National Committee's marketing email data in the lead up to Jan. 6.
LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC'
Loudermilk's report also asserted that the committee "deleted records and hid evidence" ahead of Republicans taking the House majority during the 2022 election cycle.
"THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE - Reps. Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump‘s actions on January 6," the report found.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the committee deleted and destroyed evidence, including this year in a Truth Social post singling out Cheney.
Former President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd at a campaign event on July 1, 2023 in Pickens, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Cheney responded to the report early on Tuesday morning on X, arguing the report works to "cover up" Trump's actions in 2021.
"If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol, you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s," Cheney tweeted Tuesday.
Last week, Loudermilk’s office released transcripts of a "withheld" committee interview with a Trump administration official, White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato, that reportedly undermines the committee’s report that they did not have evidence showing the Trump White House requested National Guard assistance for Jan. 6.
Ahead of serving as White House deputy chief of staff, Ornato served decades in the Secret Service.
The interview, which was first reported by The Federalist, shows Ornato told the committee that he overheard then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows asking D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as much protection for the city as she needed for Jan. 6.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on April 27, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"Fulton County District Attorney wrote to the Select Committee seeking assistance with her prosecution of President Trump. Select Committee staff met with representatives from her office," the initial findings report states.
Pelosi’s office declined comment Tuesday morning when contacted by Fox News Digital on Loudermilk’s report. Fox News Digital also reached out to Thompson's press secretary, but did not immediately receive a response.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. (Getty Images)
Thompson did respond to the report in a statement published to his X account, calling the report "dishonest."
"Loudermilk is merely trying to deflect from Donald Trump's responsibility for the violence of January 6th and his own refusal to answer the Select Committee's questions," his statement added.
Loudermilk said in comments Monday that the report's release "is just the beginning" in his efforts to "uncover the facts about January 6."
"The American people deserve the entire truth about what caused the violent breach at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. It is unfortunate the Select Committee succumbed to their political inclinations and chased false narratives instead of providing the important work of a genuine investigation. In my committee’s investigation, it is my objective to uncover the facts about January 6, without political bias or spin. My report today is just the beginning," Loudermilk said.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-report-alleges-jan-6-committee-deleted-records-hid-evidence