US Federal judge rules in favor of Jan. 6 committee to obtain RNC email marketing records

The ongoing probe by the January 6 Congressional committee has extended to the marketing efforts by the Republican National Committee. The RNC was dealt a blow this week as a federal judge rejected the RNC’s efforts to block the release of email marketing records to the panel.

In a report by the Washington Post, Washington federal judge Timothy J. Kelly rejected the RNC’s claims that its records, as well as the Trump campaign’s records, are protected by the First Amendment.

In his ruling, Kelly also affirmed the committee’s Constitutionally-granted legislative power to obtain the records, finding that judges cannot interfere with the manner that lawmakers obtain and use the information.

The Jan. 6 panel is requesting the records held by business software firm Salesforce related to its work with former President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign to see if Trump’s fund-raising emails encouraged the violence of the mob that attempted to derail the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.

The ruling made over the weekend temporarily blocks the firm from releasing the records to give the RNC time to appeal the decision.

“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,” said Kelly in his 53-page ruling. “To repeat: according to the Select Committee, its investigation and public reporting suggest that claims 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.”

Speaking on CBS Sunday, Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who serves on the committee, suggested that he will support subpoenas for Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other members of Congress who have been implicated in plotting to overturn the 2020 election.

Kinzinger would not disclose who he thinks the panel needs to speak with but said that should it be necessary to subpoena, then “it takes a subpoena.”

When Kinzinger was pressed by host Margaret Brennan on the revelation of Greene advocating for “Marshall law” in her text message to Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the GOP congressman said that the panel is already aware of “some things” about Greene.

Kinzinger cited that Greene – who has called herself a “victim” of the Jan. 6 riots – has a history of attacking survivors of school shootings.