IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 479 
Censuring Representative Bennie Thompson. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 7, 2023 
Mr. GAETZ (for himself and Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ethics 
RESOLUTION 
Censuring Representative Bennie Thompson. 
Whereas, on December 30, 2022, Representative Bennie 
Thompson, then Chair of the Select Committee to Inves-
tigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Cap-
itol (‘‘January 6th Committee’’), sent a letter to the 
Biden White House, along with property of the House of 
Representatives, in violation of longstanding Rules of the 
House of Representatives, including the Rules for the 
117th Congress; 
Whereas, on December 30, 2022, Representative Thompson 
also sent a similar letter and records to the Department 
of Homeland Security, also in violation of the Rules; 
Whereas, as a committee chair, Representative Thompson 
was required, under rule VII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, to turn over all committee records to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:53 Jun 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR479.IH
HR479
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 479 IH 
the Clerk of the House at the close of Congress, in order 
to further transparency and to preserve the historical 
record of Congress; 
Whereas Representative Thompson intentionally violated this 
rule, as evidenced by his letters to the executive branch, 
which expressly detail his ‘‘expectation’’ that the House 
property improperly turned over to the executive branch 
would eventually be turned over to the National Archives, 
an expectation that could only have salience if the mate-
rials turned over were, in fact, congressional records; 
Whereas Congress still is unsure of the scope of the records 
kept or improperly destroyed by the January 6th Com-
mittee, as evidenced by the May 18, 2023 letter from 
Representative Barry Loudermilk, chair of the Sub-
committee on Oversight of the Committee on House Ad-
ministration, to the National Archives requesting a cata-
logue of records produced by the January 6th Committee; 
and 
Whereas, under rule VII and rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives for the 117th and 118th Con-
gresses, the responsibility to ensure proper recordkeeping 
by a committee resides with the committee chairperson, 
a responsibility that Representative Thompson inten-
tionally violated or recklessly neglected: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) Representative Bennie Thompson of Mis-
sissippi be censured; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:53 Jun 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR479.IH
HR479
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 479 IH 
(2) Representative Bennie Thompson forthwith 
present himself in the well of the House of Rep-
resentatives for the pronouncement of censure; 
(3) Representative Bennie Thompson be cen-
sured with the public reading of this resolution by 
the Speaker; and 
(4) Representative Bennie Thompson be, and is 
hereby, removed from the Committee on Homeland 
Security. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:53 Jun 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR479.IH
HR479
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS