Bennie Thompson: January 6 Committee Will Issue ‘Criminal Referrals’ for Subpoena Defiers

House Select Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said Friday to NBC News that anyone who defies their subpoenas during their investigation of the January 6 riot will have a criminal referral issued.

Thompson said, “We did 11 subpoenas this week. We started questioning some of the voluntary witnesses today. And we will continue that process. We will have other subpoenas scheduled to come out. And we will continue to do our work.”

Reporter Ali Vitali said, “In terms of depositions, I know some are coming close, for Meadows and others. Do you think they are going to show up? Have you heard from those legal teams?”

Thompson said, “Well, the only thing I can say is the committee will probably for those who don’t agree to come in voluntarily, we’ll do criminal referrals and let that process work out.”

The first subpoenas were sent to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House social media director Dan Scavino, former Pentagon official, House Intelligence Committee aide Kash Patel and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

A second round of subpoenas, focusing on 11 individuals who helped organize the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on January 6.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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