Jan. 6 committee seeking phone records from Sebastian Gorka - POLITICO

The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has issued a subpoena for the phone records of pro-Trump commentator and radio host Sebastian Gorka, who previously had not been known to be of interest to the committee.

Gorka filed suit Tuesday, accusing the committee of overstepping its authority and asking a court to block Verizon from turning over the records.

According to the lawsuit, Gorka has not been asked by the committee to answer questions or provide any other documents. He says he had been asked to speak at a Jan. 6 rally meant to be held in front of the Supreme Court, but his speech was canceled and he said he was merely a spectator for other events that day.

"Dr. Gorka was not a member or leader of any organization that sponsored any events on January 6, and was not present at the Capitol on that day," Gorka's attorneys said in the suit.

The subpoena included in the filing had asked for phone records from Nov. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021, from Gorka to be turned over by Dec. 31, 2021.

A spokesperson for the panel declined to comment. Gorka is represented in the suit by David Warrington and Michael Columbo of the Dhillon Law Group. The firm is also representing former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and other figures involved in the Jan. 6 investigation.

In the suit, Gorka's lawyers characterize him as an "adverse political journalist."

The lawsuit is the latest in a suddenly voluminous list of litigation facing the Jan. 6 select committee. In recent weeks, lawsuits have been filed by Flynn, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, attorney John Eastman, Stop the Steal founder Ali Alexander and a slew of other witnesses the committee believes had knowledge and involvement in the events that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

On Tuesday morning, two Oath Keepers charged with conspiring to halt Congress' certification of the 2020 election also sued to block their phone records from reaching congressional investigators.

Former President Donald Trump himself has also sued the committee, as well as the National Archives, in an attempt to prevent his investigators from obtaining his White House records. That case is now awaiting potential consideration by the Supreme Court.

It's unclear how significantly the lawsuits will affect the work of the committee, which is operating at a breakneck pace as the Democrat-led panel attempts to complete the bulk of its investigation by the summer.

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