Jan. 6 panel to seek information from Willard hotel

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Sunday said the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has asked the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington, D.C. for information as part of its probe.

Former President Trump’s team reportedly gathered at the hotel, which is located near the White House. Congressional investigators have zeroed in on what occurred at the hotel war room in the time leading up to the Capitol riot.

Asked by co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” about the “makeshift war room” at the Willard Hotel, Thompson said on Sunday the hotel “has been asked to provide information for us.”

Rudy Giuliani, former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik and lawyer John Eastman were all at the hotel war room, according to The New York Times.

Kerik, who was an adviser to Trump, has provided the House committee with a trove of documents, in addition to a “privilege log,” which outlined materials he would not hand over to the panel, according to Politico.

The committee subpoenaed Kerik in November, citing a Jan. 5 meeting at the Willard Hotel with Giuliani, Eastman and former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon.

Thompson, the Jan. 6 panel’s chair, in a letter to Kerik noted reports that the former New York City official paid for the rooms and suites at the hotel, which “served as election-related command centers,” and worked with Giuliani to investigate claims of voter fraud and boost “Stop the Steal” efforts.

Thompson on Sunday said “part of our work is to try to get access to the records on that day, who paid for it.”

“Bernie Kerik is significant,” he added.

In a letter to Thompson dated on Friday, Kerik’s attorney said his client “never participated in any effort to knowingly promote false claims” and “very much wants to cooperate with your committee and any investigators who are truly willing to move ahead swiftly and get to the truth.”

Thompson also said on Sunday that the committee will explore subpoenas for Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Scott Perry (Pa.) if they don’t cooperate with the panel’s investigation.

–Updated at 9:54 a.m.