Jan. 6 committee withdraws subpoena for RNC fundraising info as time ticks for ‘Cinderella’ panel

The Democrat-controlled House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol has decided to drop a subpoena it issued against the Republican National Committee and Salesforce, a cloud-based sales and marketing software company, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The subpoena sought to acquire performance metrics and email campaign analytics related to the RNC, former President Donald Trump, and his election campaign, The Washington Post reports.

This week, attorneys representing the RNC and Salesforce were informed of the committee’s decision to formally withdraw the subpoena via an email from House general counsel Douglas Letter.

“Given the current stage of its investigation, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has determined that it no longer has a need to pursue the specific information requested in the February 23, 2022 subpoena that it issued to Salesforce,” the email, reviewed by The Post, read.

Originally, the Jan. 6 committee was hoping to build a case that the RNC inspired protestors of the contested 2020 elections to attack the Capitol through their fundraising practices. As Salesforce owns the RNC’s fundraising platform, the data the company holds, the committee argued, were essential to “understand” how emails to donors may have pushed some Republicans to riot.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week, committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) expressed his concern about Trump’s 2020 campaign fundraising practices.

“The fact that the vast majority of this money was raised under ‘Stop the Steal’ with no intention to ‘stop the steal,’ worried panel members,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn called the withdrawal of the subpoena a “victory.”

“We said all along that this subpoena was unconstitutional,” she stated. “This is a victory for freedom of speech, privacy, and Americans’ right of political association without fear of partisan reprisal.”

The RNC fought hard for this victory, and, The Post notes, is “the only entity to date to successfully oppose a subpoena from the House select committee.”

After a federal judge ordered Salesforce to comply with the subpoena, the RNC appealed the decision. Three federal appeals judges sided with the RNC earlier this summer and issued a temporary injunction, prohibiting the committee from obtaining the information they sought.

The Jan. 6 committee has declined to comment.

While the summer months put the Jan. 6 committee’s show on hiatus, the public hearings are set to resume this month and, according to committee panel member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the full report on the committee’s findings will be out “by the end of the year.”

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Raskin suggested that, with the midterm elections approaching and almost universal predictions that America will restore at least the House majority to Republicans, the panel was running out of time.

“We’re like Cinderella – at midnight our license runs out by the end of the year,” he said.

One thing is for certain: the committee’s two GOP members, Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) will soon be turning into pumpkins.

While Kinzinger chose not to run for reelection, Cheney was overwhelmingly rejected by her state’s voters and ousted to the sound of cheers from across the nation.

But the Jan. 6 committee isn’t through with their quest to prevent Trump from running in 2024 just yet.

“We’re interested in getting testimony from anyone who has relevant evidence about the attempt to overthrow the 2020 elections,” Raksin said.

Chief among those “relevant” people is Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, whom the left also loves to trash for opposing their political demands.

“She has relevant testimony to render and she should come forward and give it,” Raskin insisted. “I don’t want to overstate her role, we’ve talked to more than 1,000 people.”

Also up to bat for the sham investigators could be former Vice President Mike Pence, who has indicated he’d be willing to play a part in the House’s dog and pony show.

Melissa Fine

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