In a recent development, Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Chair of the House Administration Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, disclosed that the January 6 Committee allegedly deleted or encrypted over 100 files just as Republicans were poised to regain control of the House. These files are particularly noteworthy as they are believed to contain information used in the ongoing legal proceedings against former President Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.
Reportedly, Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, collaborated with the committee to gather evidence for the prosecution of Trump. However, Loudermilk’s forensic team identified 117 files that mysteriously vanished or became inaccessible on January 1, 2023, indicating either deletion or encryption. This raises questions about the integrity and transparency of the committee’s operations, especially considering the committee’s claim of not possessing much of the information from their hearings.
Loudermilk has expressed his determination to uncover the truth behind these missing files, demanding the passwords for the encrypted ones. He suggests that these files could hold key interviews and depositions that might challenge the prevailing narrative set by the committee. “It’s clear that the committee took extensive measures to hide certain documents from the public eye,” Loudermilk stated to Fox News. He also questioned the intentions of Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, accusing them of obstructing the Subcommittee’s work by failing to preserve crucial information and videos, as mandated by House rules.
Loudermilk emphasized the public’s right to full disclosure: “The American people deserve to know the truth. My primary objective is to present the facts, devoid of any preconceived ideas or predetermined narratives, and allow the public to form their own opinions based on these facts.”
This situation has led some Republicans to speculate that the collaboration between the committee and Willis was a deliberate attempt to keep Willis’s findings in the Trump case hidden from public scrutiny. According to Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak, such an act of concealment could potentially impact Willis’s prosecution case, especially since defense lawyers were not given access to the evidence or the extent of collaboration between the committee and the district attorney.