Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) unveiled a resolution Wednesday to censure Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) for allegedly not turning over Jan. 6 Committee documents.
Thompson chaired the Jan. 6 panel until it was dissolved before the new Congress convened in January. Gaetz argues that Thompson breached House rules by not sending the panel's records to the Clerk of the House.
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“Lawmakers investigating the weaponization of the federal government are unable to determine which records of the January 6th Select Committee were kept or destroyed before Republicans took control of the House," Gaetz said in a statement.
On top of not handing over the files by the end of last year, Gaetz is accusing Thompson of sending numerous "records to the Biden White House and outside the rightful possession of Congress." His resolution referenced Dec. 30, 2022, letters Thompson wrote to the Biden administration.
"Representative Thompson intentionally violated this rule, as evidenced by his letters to the executive branch, which expressly detail his 'expectation' that the House property improperly turned over to the executive branch would eventually be turned over to the National Archives," the resolution states.
The resolution alleges that Thompson flouted "rule VII" in the House by not relinquishing the documents and takes note of his redaction requests to the Biden administration, a bid to safeguard the identities of those who testified before the panel.
In addition to censuring Thompson, the bill would oust him from the Committee on Homeland Security, where he serves as a ranking member.
In March, the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight opened an investigation into the Jan. 6 panel led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).
Loudermilk penned a letter to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the National Archives and Records Administration last month requesting documents pertaining to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He raised concerns that Congress doesn't have possession of all the files.
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The Washington Examiner contacted a Thompson representative for comment.
On Tuesday, Gaetz proposed a resolution to hold former Trump prosecutor Mark Pomerantz in contempt of Congress over his apparent failure to meet a subpoena demand to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Pomerantz appeared under oath on May 12 but invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.