January 6 Committee Announces Subpoena to Former President Donald Trump

CNN
—

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol announced on Friday that the panel had officially sent a subpoena to former President Donald Trump as he describes him as the central figure in the multi-step plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The committee issued the subpoena in an attempt to compel Trump to sit for a sworn deposition and provide documents. The panel orders Trump to deliver the documents by November 4 and to appear in person or virtually for “one or more days of deposition beginning on or about November 14.”

Trump’s attorneys said Friday afternoon they would review the subpoena “and respond appropriately to this unprecedented action.”

While it’s unclear whether Trump will comply with the subpoena, the action serves as a way for the committee to establish a marker and make it clear that it wants information directly from Trump while the panel investigates. on the attack. Trump could also fight the subpoena in court, perhaps setting up a hugely important battle that could go to the highest level of the nation’s judiciary, but it’s also possible that such a legal challenge will survive the committee’s mandate. .

Before the subpoena was released, the committee’s vice chair, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said at a Harvard event earlier this week that she assumes Trump will fulfill his legal obligation and honor the subpoena from the committee, “but if that doesn’t happen, then we’ll take action after that, but I don’t want to go too far down that road at this point.

Unlike previous subpoena announcements, the committee on Friday released the full subpoena it sent to Trump along with the documents it seeks.

“As demonstrated during our hearings, we have gathered overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to nullify the 2020 presidential election and make impediment to the peaceful transition of power,” Cheney and Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the committee, write in the subpoena.

The panel summarizes what it presented during its hearings to demonstrate why it believes Trump “personally orchestrated and supervised” efforts to void the election.

He says Trump “deliberately and maliciously” disseminated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen in order to aid his plan to void the election and solicit contributions. The committee paints Trump as “orchestrated and overseeing” the effort to get fake voters out of the state. On pressure campaigns Trump has embraced, the panel’s highlight says Trump attempted to “bribe the Department of Justice,” by coercing officials to make “false statements,” unlawfully pressured officials in the state to alter the election results, pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to count electoral votes on Jan. 6 “when they specifically knew it was illegal” and pressured members of Congress to oppose able-bodied voters.

Trump’s attorney, David Warrington, released a statement Friday afternoon, saying, “We will be handling this matter as counsel for President Donald J. Trump. We understand that once again, disregarding proper and customary standards and process, the Committee has made public a copy of its subpoena. As with any similar matter, we will review and analyze it, and respond appropriately to this unprecedented action.

The former president posted a lengthy response criticizing the social truth committee after members voted unanimously to subpoena him but did not say whether he would comply. Trump also recently shared a Fox story on Truth Social that claimed he “likes the idea of ​​testifying.” But Trump could also challenge the subpoena in court, and such a legal challenge would likely last longer than the committee’s term.

In its subpoena, the committee specifically asks Trump to turn over all communications, sent or received during the period from November 3, 2020 to January 20, 2021, with more than a dozen of his close allies who have become key players in the broadest plan to cancel the 2020 elections:

The panel’s request for disclosure includes communications from Trump’s Signal. The committee also notes that it wants Trump to testify about his interactions with several people, including people on the same list, who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights when questioned by the committee about their dealings with the government. ‘former president.

“This subpoena calls for testimony regarding your dealings with several individuals who have now themselves invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination regarding their communications with you, including Roger Stone, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, U.S. Army (retired), John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark and Kelli Ward,” the committee wrote in a letter to Trump.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who sits on the committee, was asked Friday if she and her colleagues were open to having the former president testify before the panel. She told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” that it was “subject to negotiation,” but reiterated that Trump must respond to the subpoena first.

“We asked for the documents first, so we could think about any additional questions we might ask him,” Lofgren added.

The House committee’s final public hearing, where members voted to subpoena him, served as a closing argument to the American public ahead of the midterm elections that Trump is at the center of the multifaceted conspiracy. aimed at canceling the 2020 presidential election.

“It is our obligation to request the testimony of Donald Trump,” Thompson said before the subpoena vote at the hearing.

Cheney told the hearing that seeking Trump’s testimony under oath remains “a key task” as several witnesses closest to the former president have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to their interactions with Trump.

“We are compelled to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion,” Cheney said, referring to Trump.

This story has been updated with additional developments.