The House was informed Monday that a grand jury subpoena issued by the Justice Department seeking documents had been served on the Sergeant’s Office and that the office would comply.
“Mr. Speaker, Your Excellency, pursuant to Rule 8 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, I would like to formally inform you that the Office of the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives has been honored with honor.” Subpoena to jury for documents issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. ” Clerk Susan Cole said on the House floor, formally conveying House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland’s message to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“After consulting with the Office of the General Counsel, I have determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the rights and privileges of the House of Representatives. Signed in good faith by William P. McFarland, the Chief Sergeant of the House of Representatives.”
The sergeant-at-arms is the House’s chief law enforcement and protocol officer and is responsible for maintaining order on the House side of the Capitol, according to the House website. Duties include reviewing and implementing all matters related to the safety and security of members of Congress and the Capitol. The sergeant also “works extensively with the U.S. Capitol Police and various intelligence agencies to assess threats to members of Congress and the Capitol.”
Trump White House official Peter Navarro sentenced to four months in prison for violating subpoena on January 6th
William McFarland will testify at a House Administration Committee hearing entitled “Looking Forward Series: House Sergeant at Arms Strategic Planning for the 118th Congress” on April 18, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
The last House Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving, served nine years and resigned the day after the January 6, 2021, riot.
Neither the Justice Department nor the House Sergeant at Arms has released the contents of the subpoena, prompting a wave of speculation online about McFarland’s announcement. Some lawyers and political observers have speculated without evidence that the incident may be related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, but a new report suggests it may not be at all. This indicates the possibility of another riot.
Punchbowl News, citing multiple sources familiar with the investigation, reported that the Justice Department is investigating an unnamed House Democrat for allegedly misusing government funds earmarked for personal protection personnel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks with Sergeant at Arms William McFarland as they leave a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol on September 21, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
‘Alarming’ surveillance: Fed asks banks to search for private transactions for terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’
“This is the subpoena read in the House today,” Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote to X.
Acting House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland and Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson will testify at a joint oversight hearing on July 26, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
The announcement of subpoenas is not new on the House floor. Last November, Tyrese Ali, another House reading secretary, made a similar announcement from Representative Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who said that “a third party seeking documents from prosecutors and defendants “I have received a subpoena,” he formally notified Congress. Criminal proceeding in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. ” Pelosi also said she intended to comply.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
No specific case was named in the House at the time, but the subpoenas were issued around the same time that David DePaap faced federal trial. DePape was later convicted of a hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, then-speaker Paul Pelosi, at her San Francisco home in 2022 while she was away.
