The chair of the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said on Sunday that his panel is working with Facebook to obtain information and has a team looking into the financing of the rally before the attack.
“We think the potential for co-mingling restricted funds for this purpose might be there. But, obviously, we’ll look at it,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“It’s just interesting to note a lot of people came to Washington by bus, by plane, by chartered vehicles, they stayed in hotels, motels. Somebody had to pay for that,” Thompson added. “And we want to look at whether or not that paying for that participation was legal and whether or not it contributed to what occurred on Jan. 6.”
Thompson said the committee is “negotiating” with Facebook to get specific information and isn’t yet ready to determine the social media giant’s role in terms of spreading information ahead of the attack.
“It’s clear that the Jan. 6 organization per se used them as an organizing tool to the extent that we can identify what really happened,” Thompson said. “At this point, Facebook is working with us to provide the necessary information we requested.”
Another key question is whether the committee might subpoena former President Donald Trump.
“Nobody’s off limits,” Thompson said. “If the evidence leads to former President Trump or anyone else, the committee is not reticent on pushing back on it. We will go forward with it.”
Thompson also made it clear the committee wants to explore the depths of potential premeditation involved in the attack.
“The worst-kept secret in America is that Donald Trump invited individuals to come to Washington on Jan. 6,” Thompson said. “He said all hell would break loose.”