House panel investigating Jan. 6 attack seeks records from Trump White House

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol requested documents Wednesday from Trump administration officials and other federal agencies.

Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee issued letters to the National Archives and Records Administration and other executive branch agencies for information related to the riots.

Wednesday's request is the panel's "first round of demands" as part of its task to determine the cause of the attack and prevent such an event from happening again.

Thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol immediately following a speech at the Ellipse in which he baselessly claimed that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

Protesters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop a joint session of Congress from certifying the results of the election in favor of President Joe Biden.

"The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is examining the facts, circumstances and causes of the January 6th attack," Thompson said. "Our Constitution provides for a peaceful transfer of power, and this investigation seeks to evaluate threats to that process, identify lessons learned and recommend laws, policies, procedures, rules or regulations necessary to protect our republic in the future."

In addition to the records administration, the Jan. 6 committee sought records from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Justice, the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The panel said it's looking for records that include remarks made during the rally at the Ellipse, calendars, schedules, communications and call logs for Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, and photographs and other media from the rally, march to the Capitol or violence at the Capitol.

The letters also requested documents from Jan. 6 related to a number of people close to Trump, including first lady Melania Trump; his children and their spouses, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle; and current and former advisers such as Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Hope Hicks, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone.