[2][3] After his presidency, Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was searched by the FBI as part of an investigation into presidential documents he had removed from the White House but declined to return under subpoena.

"[4] As part of his concessions during his eventual, after 15 ballots, successful bid to become Speaker of the 118th Congress, McCarthy promised members of the Republican Freedom Caucus to create a subcommittee to investigate actions taken by federal agencies and the Biden administration.

[6] Beginning in the Trump presidency, many Republicans have raised concerns regarding perceived censorship of conservative views on Big Tech platforms.

Republicans have compared the Subcommittee to the 1975 Church Committee formed by Democrats to investigate the abuse of civil liberties by American intelligence agencies.

[6] Chairman Jordan sent letters to multiple Biden Administration officials from Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education,[17] including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray on January 17, 2023, that before Republicans took control of the House, they had asked the DOJ and FBI for information and documents but had not received them, but "this stonewalling must stop" now that Republicans control committees.

The subpoenas demanded documents related to a 2021 directive issued by the Justice Department to step up coordination with local officials regarding a spate of aggressive and threatening behavior by parents at some school board meetings.

Witnesses included Republican senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley; former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard; former FBI agents Thomas Baker and Nicole Parker; George Washington University law professor, and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley; and Elliot Williams, a CNN legal analyst and Obama administration deputy assistant attorney general.

"[29] In her opening remarks, Democratic ranking member Stacey Plaskett said she was "deeply concerned about the use of this select subcommittee as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda that risks undermining Americans' faith in our democracy."

In March 2023, Subcommittee Democrats released a 316-page report asserting the interviewed men did not meet the definition of a whistleblower and had engaged in partisan conduct that called their credibility into question, writing "each endorses an alarming series of conspiracy theories related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Covid vaccine, and the validity of the 2020 election."

[36] Both Taibbi and Schellenberger shared documents highlighting a range of concerns, from the White House pushing Twitter to censor Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Martin Kulldorf, to FBI officials urging suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Two of the three witnesses, and a third man, had their security clearances revoked days before the hearing for participating in the January 6 attack, or for later expressing views about it that placed into question their "allegiance to the United States," according to the bureau.