McCarthy warns telecom and social media companies that comply with January 6 committee records requests

“If these companies comply with the democratic order to pass on private information, they violate federal law and can lose their legal capacity in the United States,” said the California Republican in a statement that he published on Twitter. “If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget Americans and stand by Americans to hold them accountable under the law.”

McCarthy’s office would not provide CNN with any specific federal law that a company would break if it adhered to a properly staffed congressional committee.

The special committee took its first step in the investigation on Monday, demanding that more than 30 social media and telecommunications companies keep the phone records of certain lawmakers and members in orbit of former President Donald Trump who had a role in the “Stop the Steal” action have played. Rally to kick off the Capitol Rebellion.

While the committee has not made public the names of the legislators whose records it is targeting, several sources familiar with the work of the committee have confirmed for CNN that the records of several members of Congress are among those the committee wishes to keep.

The committee has not formally requested any documents, only requested that records be kept in case the investigation needed them. McCarthy’s suggestion that working with the committee might be illegal could make it difficult for the committee to keep records.

A spokesman for the committee said later Tuesday that the threat would not affect his work.

“The special committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and trying to overturn the results of last year’s election. We have asked companies not to destroy any records that could help answer questions from the American people, ”spokesman Tim Mulvey said in a statement to CNN. “The efforts of the committee will not be deterred by those who want to gloss over or cover up the events of January 6 or obstruct our investigation.”

McCarthy also accused the special committee of making private companies strong, naming committee chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Adam Schiff, both California Democrats, in his statement.

It is unclear by what means the committee will force the telecommunications companies to cooperate with their application. While the committee has subpoena powers, soliciting the information – especially from members of Congress – could lead to a lengthy litigation.

Specifically, as CNN previously reported, sources said McCarthy’s name was not on the original list of names the committee sent to companies for record keeping.

Still, the content of the Congressman’s call with Trump is expected to be of great interest to the committee during the height of the turmoil, and Thompson has repeatedly not ruled out calling McCarthy to testify before the committee if the investigation leads there.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild contributed to this report.