NEW YORK — The New York State Democratic Party is demanding the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection extend its probe to include GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, who’s running against Gov. Kathy Hochul in this year’s gubernatorial race.
In a letter to the House Select Committee, state Dem Party Chairman Jay Jacobs urges the committee to “investigate and gather information” on Zeldin, “who not only strongly supported President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, but also has yearslong connections to extreme groups like the Oath Keepers, who played an essential role in the insurrection.”
“As Lee Zeldin runs for higher office in the State of New York, we believe the state and the nation must be aware of any possible involvement in the insurrection on the United States Capitol,” Jacobs writes. “We again thank the Select Committee’s work and consideration of this matter and look forward to a response.”
The Jan. 6 committee, which is scheduled to hold another hearing on Thursday, has focused on how Trump was involved in the insurrection and has so far featured the blockbuster sworn testimony of Cassidy Hutchison, the former Trump aide who revealed that after Trump was informed that protesters were carrying weapons to the Capitol, he pushed to relax security checks there.
Jacobs’ letter focuses on learning more about Zeldin’s role, if any, surrounding the insurrection. He points to the congressman’s connections to extremist groups — like the Oath Keepers and Long Island Loud Majority — as possible avenues of exploration.
The South Poverty Law Center has listed the Oath Keepers as an extremist group, citing multiple armed standoffs against the government and its leader Stewart Rhodes’ arrest for conspiring to oppose the presidential transfer of power forcibly. The U.S. Department of Justice recently accused one member of the group of bringing explosives to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6.
Jacobs cites how Zeldin attended a 2015 meeting held by the Long Island chapter of the Oath Keepers, saying that by that time, the group was “already known for pushing fringe conspiracy theories and making verbal threats of violence about sitting members of Congress.”
At the time, a spokeswoman for Zeldin said that the Oath Keepers were one of many groups “representing all sides of the ideological spectrum.”
Jacobs points to Zeldin’s connections to the Long Island Loud Majority as well. The SPLC has labeled it an “anti-government group.”
Zeldin spokeswoman Katie Vincentz responded by saying Jacobs “is doing more than anyone to delegitimize the January 6th Committee.”
“The refusal by the New York State Democratic Party to tackle the issues of crime and the economy is exactly why our state is leading the country in population loss,” she said. “Hochul and her pathetic henchmen are desperate to distract away from all of the ways they are destroying New York.”
Jacobs concludes his letter with a focus on Zeldin’s close ties to Trump, who was impeached twice.
“Additionally, Congressman Zeldin’s close ties to President Trump are cause for investigation,” Jacobs writes. “Congressman Zeldin was an ardent supporter of President Trump during both impeachment trials and, in the first, was known as the President’s ‘point man,’ appearing more than 550 times in deposition transcripts.”
In addition to Jacobs’ signature, dozens of other state Democrats are listed as endorsers of the demand. They include Rep. Greg Meeks, head of the Queens Democrats; state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, who heads the Bronx Democratic Party; former Assemblyman Keith Wright, who now leads the Manhattan Democrats; and Assemblyman Michael Cusick, who chairs the Staten Island Democratic Party.
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