U.S. House committee subpoenas Sen. Doug Mastriano as part of Jan. 6 investigation

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election issued subpoenas for six more people on Feb. 15, including state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin).

Mastriano, an ally of former President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate, attended the “Save America” rally, the morning precursor to the deadly riot. He has denied engaging in violence, but the state senator appears to have been much closer to the Capitol than he initially claimed, according to video footage.

In a statement, the U.S. House committee said Mastriano — who did not respond to a call seeking comment — was “part of a plan to arrange for an alternate slate of electors” and reportedly spoke with Trump about “post-election activities.” The panel cited a Nov. 28, 2020, tweet from Mastriano, who said he was advocating for the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature to appoint Electoral College delegates.

This power was given to the state legislature for the purpose of safeguarding the appointment of our President, specifically contemplating corruption and ensuring that the people are not disenfranchised through a corrupt election process. (2)

— Senator Doug Mastriano (@SenMastriano) November 28, 2020

Leading up to the 2020 election and in the year since now-President Joe Biden took office, Mastriano has amplified baseless claims of voter fraud. He passed off the wrong information about mail-in ballot totals and hosted a November 2020 hearing in Gettysburg where Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and other supporters parroted unsubstantiated claims of fraud before a panel of Republican lawmakers.

In June, he launched a so-called “forensic investigation” of the 2020 election and made a sweeping request for election equipment and voter information in Philadelphia, York, and Tioga counties.

Mastriano toured the GOP-backed election review in Arizona last summer. He was joined by House Judiciary Committee Chair Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin) and Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee Chair Cris Dush (R-Jefferson) who is now leading the taxpayer-funded election investigation.

Since Mastriano, still a member of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee, was stripped of his committee chair assignment, he has stayed quiet about the review and its progress.

He has also refused to speak to his involvement with an election review in Fulton County, carried out by a private firm with ties to Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump lawyer who helped file lawsuits to challenge the 2020 election.

Records obtained by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star and government watchdogs through Right-to-Know Law requests confirm that Mastriano and Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair), who also serves on the Senate panel leading the investigation, helped facilitate an off-the-books, third-party review in the rural Pennsylvania county after the 2020 election.