(Bloomberg) — The Republican National Committee sued the members of Congress investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, accusing the Democrat-led group of abusing its power for political gain.
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The House select committee probing the 2021 insurrection by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters issued an “overbroad” subpoena for sensitive RNC data from Salesforce.com Inc., a key vendor, the party said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Washington.
The RNC has previously called the Jan. 6 committee illegitimate, censured its Republican members and argued that the deadly siege of the Capitol — which forced lawmakers to flee and left more than 140 police officers injured — was “legitimate political discourse.”
The subpoena “vastly exceeds Congress’ limited subpoena power and infringes on rights of the RNC, its constituent members, donors, and other supporters,” the RNC said in the complaint. The request will chill free speech and “expose the RNC’s supporters to reprisals and harassment,” it said.
The committee said in a statement that it issued the subpoena to help investigators understand the impact of “false, inflammatory messages in the weeks before January 6th,” as well as the flow of funds and whether money raised was “actually directed to the purpose indicated.”
“This action has absolutely nothing to do with getting the private information of voters or donors,” committee spokesperson Tim Mulvey said.
The RNC said it used Salesforce to help develop and execute email-driven outreach to volunteers and voters. The company didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Read More: Trump Distortions Before Capitol Riot Are a Focus of House Probe
(Updates with committee statement)
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