It comes as no surprise that the Republican National Committee (RNC) does not want the January 6 Committee investigating its part in the failed coup. They blocked the January 6 Committee’s attempt to unlock secret documents sent by the marketing vendor Salesforce. In all likelihood, those emails furthered Donald Trump’s claims of fraud and provoked the violence.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly agreed with the committee. He wrote in his 50-plus page opinion, The Daily Beast reported:
‘It is hard to imagine a more important interest for Congress than to preserve its own ability to carry out specific duties assigned to it under the Constitution. To repeat: according to the Select Committee, its investigation and public reporting suggest that claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent or stolen motivated some who participated in the attack, and emails sent by the RNC and the Trump campaign using Salesforce’s platform spread those claims.’
The attorneys for Salesforce argued that the company had “taken action [to] prevent its use of our services in any way that could lead to violence.”
The House’s General Counsel’s Office attorney Eric Columbus claimed, according to The Washington Post:
‘Salesforce had reason to believe its platform had been used to fan the flames that generated January 6. … The committee wants to know what work product led them to believe that.’
Murray spoke about the First Amendment and politics in his oral arguments on Sunday:
‘Candidly, Your Honor, that’s a scandal. Our trade secrets are how we effectuate our First Amendment rights. How we try to win elections is our secret sauce…That’s what I think the congressional committee truly wants.’
Judge Kelly wrote that the committee’s subpoena had been narrowed to deal specifically with Congress’ “uniquely weighty” and “vital interest” in the insurrection:
‘The House instructed the Select Committee to ‘investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes relating to’ the January 6 attack, including “the influencing factors that fomented” it. And it empowered the Select Committee to investigate “how technology … may have factored into the motivation” for the attack, including by examining the roles of any relevant “public and private” entities.’
Kelly continued in support of the January 6 Committee:
“The subpoena does not violate the First Amendment, in part because of the limited materials at issue. Knowledge of the causes of the attack will make [the panel] ‘better able to fulfill its responsibility’ of providing well-informed recommendations to the House for remedial measures to avert a future attack.’
Lawyer for Salesforce Jacob Sommer explained to the judge:
‘We do not wish to comply with the subpoena. We are obligated to comply with it, and we will comply with it pending your orders.’
Kelly continued, calling the emails “speculative:”
‘Obviously, information that shows which email campaigns attracted more attention, and which attracted less, has some strategic value. But on the record here, whatever competitive harm may come to the RNC from disclosure of the actual material at issue is too “logically attenuated” and “speculative” to defeat the Select Committee’s weighty interest.’
Courthouse documents indicated that Letter said:
‘[The information] may assist the Select Committee in assessing the types and quantities of mass email campaigns to target in any potential legislation to combat dangerous political disinformation.’
Letter continued, calling the emails “critical:”
‘Investigating the connection that Salesforce saw between these fundraising emails and violence is critical to the Select Committee’s work.’
These emails may play a major part in the upcoming Select Committee hearings.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
Three White Lions is Gloria Christie’s new serialized book available in episodes on Amazon. Go to Kindle Vella and insert her name. She also writes for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook.
