The January 6th Insurrection: Investigation, Answers, and Accountability

Following the insurrection and attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the American public was left with countless questions about how such a violent assault on our democracy could have happened. Since then, CREW has taken legal, investigative and policy action to get answers and accountability.
The ongoing work includes:
- Criminal complaints against President Trump and senior Trump administration officials
- A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of the Army and Department of the Interior
- Analysis and publication of documents obtained through records requests and lawsuits
- Live tracking of corporate donations to members of the Sedition Caucus—the 147 members of Congress who voted to reject one or more states’ election results
- Advocacy for a strong and thorough investigation in the House of Representatives
The January 6 insurrection was not happenstance—it was the product of a months-long campaign to undermine the results of the 2020 election led by former-President Trump, and enabled by more than 100 members of Congress. In the months after the attack, some lawmakers, former government officials and public figures have continued their attacks on democracy and attempted to cover up or distort the day’s events. We refuse to let that happen.
To protect our democracy and seriously address threats of white nationalism, we need to know exactly who was responsible, how they enabled the insurrection and who continues to support attacks on democracy. Here are the actions CREW has taken so far:
Mar 21, 2022
Dec 08, 2021
Aug 31, 2021
On August 31, CREW received documents back from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, which includes a memo that restricted the use of open-source intelligence about “election-related threats”, written by Joseph Maher, who is now on the staff of the January 6 House Select Committee. Click to read.
Aug 20, 2021
Jul 29, 2021
On July 29, CREW and a coalition of watchdog groups sent a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the Select Committee, outlining questions the committee should seek to answer in the course of the investigation, including what type of coordination there was between the White House and groups planning “stop the steal” rallies, who funded and coordinated the “stop the steal” rallies leading up to and on January 6th, and whether any foreign actors played a role in the events leading up to the insurrection. Click to read the letter.
Jan 11, 2021
Additional resources: