Capitol riot committee hits back at Kevin McCarthy -- and implies he's trying to obstruct justice

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday hit back at Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after he issued a threat against telecom companies that comply with the committee's subpoenas.

The drama began after the commitee announced the intent to subpoena telecommunications companies for, among other things, the call metadata from some Republican members of Congress who were close to the pro-Trump rioters.

McCarthy responded with a threat, saying any effort to comply with such subpoenas is a "violation of federal law" — without going into any specifics — and warning that "a Republican majority will not forget."

The committee, however, promptly hit back, warning that these threats will not obstruct their business — and heavily implying that they considered McCarthy's actions to be potential obstruction of justice.

"The Select Committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and attempt to overturn the results of last year's election. We've asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people," said the official Twitter account of the committee. "The committee's efforts won't be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation."

McCarthy previously boycotted naming any people to the committee after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) vetoed his nomination of two Republicans openly dismissive of the committee's aim — though there are still two Republicans on the committee, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). McCarthy has vowed Republicans will undertake their own, partisan investigation of the attack, which has yet to materialize.