Jan. 6 investigators eye role of 'foreign adversaries' in Capitol insurrection: report

A House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection may soon hire new staff members to examine the possible role of foreign adversaries in former president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The committee, which already has about 40 staff members, is also considering whether to hire additional investigators to help analyze "the vast amount of information that Mr. Trump’s supporters posted on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Parler and YouTube in the weeks before and after the attack," the New York Times reported Friday.

"These digital footprints could help congressional investigators connect players and events, or bring to light details that witnesses might not know or remember," the NYT reported.

In addition to further scrutinizing the social media information, the committee reportedly wants "to understand whether foreign governments were able to exploit and deepen social divisions created by Mr. Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss."

"Foreign adversaries have long tried to damage America’s national security interests by exacerbating social unrest and polarization," the newspaper reported. "The committee has also discussed examining whether foreign adversaries had any other connections to the assault on Congress, according to a person briefed on that part of the inquiry."

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