Watchdog group urges Jan. 6 committee to question Republican AGs

A left-leaning watchdog group is calling on Republican attorneys general to testify before Congress about their role in organizing a Jan. 6 rally that preceded the Capitol attack.

In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and members of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, Accountable.US urged lawmakers to question the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and some of its key members about their involvement in a pro-Trump rally before the Capitol attack. 

Former President Trump spoke at the rally on the National Mall before a group of his supporters marched on the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results. During his speech to supporters in Washington, the former president urged the crowd to demand that Congress stop the certification. 

The Rule of Law Defense Fund, RAGA’s policy arm, paid for robocalls encouraging supporters of former President Trump to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 to “stop the steal.” Revelations of RAGA’s involvement sparked outrage, triggering internal resignations and prompting some corporations to pause donations to the group.

“We can’t move forward as a country without accountability for all those who helped incite the deadly attack on the Capitol on January 6th, including several Big Lie-embracing Republican attorneys general that baselessly sued to toss out legitimate election results,” Accountable.US President Kyle Herrig said in a statement. 

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, head of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, has said that the robocalls were made without his knowledge. But earlier this year, RAGA named Peter Bisbee, the operative who approved the robocalls, as its new executive director.

Several RAGA officials resigned around the time of Bisbee’s promotion. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr stepped down from his chairman post in April, citing a “fundamental difference of opinion” about what happened on Jan. 6. 

Accountable.US called on lawmakers to question key members of the group, including Marshall, Bisbee and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led an unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results. Paxton spoke at the Jan. 6 rally, where he told Trump supporters “we will not quit fighting.”

The Jan. 6 panel is made up of several top Democrats and Republicans Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), both of whom voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

Pelosi has suggested that the panel could investigate GOP lawmakers who backed Trump’s efforts to overturn the election when it reconvenes after Labor Day.

The Hill has reached out to RAGA for comment.