The RNC can appeal Kelly's ruling by May 5.
The RNC claimed a partial victory by forcing the select committee to narrow the terms of its subpoena after it indicated it will appeal the ruling. Kelly cited the narrowing as a reason to allow the committee to obtain the data.
The RNC strongly disagrees with the ruling, but the lawsuit compelled Nancy Pelosi's committee to narrow the scope of the subpoena.
The decision is a major victory for the select committee and could open the doors to reams of internal RNC data held by a third-party vendor that the RNC used to run email fundraising campaigns and analyses. The RNC filed a suit against the company after they were subpoenaed by the select committee.
The select committee noted in a letter accompanying the subpoena that it was concerned that the RNC and Trump campaign may have played a part in stoking the unrest that led to the Capitol attack. The select committee is looking for records that support the company's analysis of those fundraising efforts, as well as data about how many RNC supporters viewed those messages.
The RNC argued that a legal victory for the select committee could give Democrats access to the sensitive secrets of their political rivals, which would shed light on internal RNC digital strategies that the party has spent years crafting. The National Republican Senatorial Committee submitted a brief comparing the select committee's subpoena to Watergate.
Kelly rejected the notion that sensitive GOP data was at risk, and suggested that any competitive disadvantage that results pales in comparison to the committee's legitimate need for the documents at issue.
Kelly ruled that nothing suggests that the Select Committee is demanding, or that the RNC is laying out its digital strategy. The RNC is not able to defeat the Select Committee from disclosure of the actual material at issue.
Kelly ruled that the select committee only requested a set of records that would reveal the impact of the RNC's efforts, alongside Trump, to fundraise off claims the 2020 election was stolen.
The two-month window is relevant to the investigation into the causes of the January 6 attack.
Kelly rejected the RNC's argument that the select committee's subpoena lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and that Congress was not allowed to pursue it.
He determined that the subpoena's valid legislative purpose was apparent enough to sustain it against the challenge.
Many of the arguments made by the RNC against the Jan. 6 select committee have been swept aside by Kelly. His ruling could have an impact on the legal battles.
Kelly rejected the idea that the committee has been operating in an improper manner because it has no members selected by Kevin McCarthy. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan were rejected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi because they were too close to Trump to be legitimate investigators. McCarthy withdrew all five picks and boycotted the panel.
Kelly argued that because Pelosi disagreed with him, the select committee should not be invalid. Kelly noted that the House had repeatedly voted to accept the committee's recommendations to hold Trump associates in contempt of Congress.
Even though the Select Committee has only nine members, the House believes that they should be constituted and given the power to act.
Kelly believes that Liz Cheney can be considered the panel's ranking GOP member. Many McCarthy allies in the House argue that Cheney can't be considered the ranking member because she was appointed by Pelosi.
He ruled that the court should defer to the Select Committee's decision on whether or not she fits the bill.
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