D.C. judge rejects RNC suit against January 6 select panel

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has rejected a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee against the House select panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot. 

The suit, in which the RNC alleged that its First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the panel subpoenaed Salesforce, the software company it uses for fundraising efforts, was rejected Sunday.

In February, the committee subpoenaed Salesforce, attempting to gain access to documents from the company's marketing cloud platform that is used by the RNC.

Judge Timothy Kelly, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, dismissed the claims made by the group in a 53-page opinion, in which he writes that "less is at stake than the RNC represents."

Kelly also writes: "The subpoena’s demand for this information does not seek the disclosure of confidential internal materials and does not add to the RNC’s burden. 

"For the information the parties acknowledge exists but is currently confidential – such as the performance data of the RNC's email campaigns during this period – the strength of the Select Committee’s interest in this information outweighs any actual burdens imposed by its disclosure to the Select Committee."

The judge additionally declared that the subpoenas do not violate the Fourth Amendment and that the House panel has a legitimate purpose in inquiring after the information. 

The select panel has, over the course of its many months-long investigation, subpoenaed dozens of people, including many in former President Trump's inner circle.

The panel has most recently scheduled a number of public hearings in prime-time slots beginning June 9 and heading through the end of the month.