'Stop the steal' leader sues Jan. 6 committee over financial records subpoena

The leader of the “Stop the Steal” movement has sued the Jan. 6 committee over its subpoena for his financial records.<br><br>On Friday, Ali Alexander — who has been cooperating with the committee and gave “lengthy” testimony in December, filed a petition in D.C. district court to block the committee’s access to his financial records.<br><br>“Petitioner Ali Alexander, submit this emergency petition…requesting this court to take jurisdiction and enjoin the illegal manner in which the Select Committee is using Congress’s investigatory powers, creating constitutional chaos, and depriving citizens like Petitioner of constitutional due process,” the court filing reads.<br><br>According to the filing, the committee is seeking “two years of financial records, including Alexander’s banking records,” which Alexander claims is “unconstitutional and overbroad.”<br><br>“Any subpoena issued by the Select Committee must, at the very least, comply with the traditional test of seeking information that is reasonably relevant to the inquiry,” the filing reads.<br><br> Alexander has been key to the committee’s investigation into the attack. In December, he testified for several hours, answering questions about the planning of the rally outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, and his connections to Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and other militant groups.<br><br> “Mr. Alexander, he has been helpful in his testimony,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said after Alexander testified in December. “He’s said a lot of things. We have to go back and verify to the extent we can. But he indicated he was concerned about things that were happening that day.”<br><br>Alexander has also provided the committee with “5,291 pages in response to the Select Committee’s subpoena, including 1,219 pages of text messages from before, during, and after January 6th and 34 pages of Alexander’s Signal chats.”<br><br>Despite the lawsuit, Alexander said he has no intention of stopping his cooperation with the committee.<br><br>“I don’t have a problem with congressional oversight,” he wrote in a tweet Saturday. “I do have a problem with a political fishing expedition.”