House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms William McFarland announced he was served a grand jury subpoena by the Justice Department, sparking a wave of theories on social media Monday afternoon.
McFarland formally notified House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, of a subpoena on Monday. Details about the subpoena, including the investigation to what it is related to, remained unknown, causing some legal experts and political observers to speculate about what it could be about.
Susan Cole, the reading clerk of the House of Representatives, read the notification on the House floor Monday afternoon.
“This is to notify you formally, pursuant to Rule 8 of the House of Representatives, that the office of the sergeant at arms for the House of Representatives has been served with a grand jury subpoena for documents issued by the US Department of Justice. After consulting with the office of general counsel, I have determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the rights and privileges of the House,” she read.
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“Keep in mind, Rep Scott Perry’s communications seized pursuant to a search warrant in 2022 were JUST finally released to Jack Smith’s office after a prolonged ‘speech or debate’ privilege battle that Perry mostly lost. I wonder if this new subpoena is related,” Allison Gill, host of the political podcast Mueller, She Wrote, posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Perry’s cell phone was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in August 2022 as part of the investigation into the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. He has not been charged with any crimes.
“What grand jury? The Trump stuff was already indicted,” asked lawyer Bradley P. Moss in his own X post.
Some social media users speculated about whether the subpoena could be related to January 6, 2021, Capitol riot investigations.
“January 6th-related? Something else?” asked user @TrumpTaxes.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice for comment via email.
This is a breaking news article that will be updated when more information becomes available.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.