Cheney and Thompson Announce Senior Investigative Counsel for January 6 Select Committee
Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the Chairman of the January 6 Select Committee, along with Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) have announced that John Wood will serve as the Senior Investigative Counsel for the January 6 Select Committee and will also be 'Of Counsel to the Vice Chair.'
Wood is a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri and was also a senior Bush Administration official.
Additionally, Wood has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, according to a statement from the January 6 Committee website. He has served as the President of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center and, during the Bush Administration, he also served as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, deputy associated attorney general and counselor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. He also served as deputy general counsel in the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The appointment of Wood came days before George Bush announced a fundraiser for Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick, who served as the Vice President during Bush's presidency.
Cheney was appointed the vice chairwoman of the January 6 committee, a committee created by Nancy Pelosi to investigate the events that led the attack on the capitol on January 6, 2021.
5 people died on that day as a result of the attack.
“Every member of this committee is dedicated to conducting a non-partisan, professional, and thorough investigation of all the relevant facts regarding January 6th and the threat to our Constitution we faced that day,” Cheney said in a statement.
House Resolution 503 established the Select Committee to "investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes related to the January 6 attack and interference with the peaceful transfer of power," the Select Committee website states.
The addition of Wood as Senior Counsel offers another perspective on the events of that fateful day in January.
“Mr. Wood has an impressive track record working inside and outside of government, and his expertise will enhance our efforts to investigate the events surrounding January 6th and understand what led to the attack against the U.S. Capitol that day," said Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney in a joint statement. "Furthermore, his addition to the committee staff underscores the nonpartisan nature of our work. The Committee will continue to put politics aside to get answers the American people deserve about what happened and how to ensure it never happens again. We both thank Mr. Wood for serving the nation in this position and look forward to working alongside him as our investigation proceeds."