The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Washington Capitol on Thursday approved former President Donald Trump’s subpoena for testimony, a move that could result in the ex-president’s arrest if he fails to comply.
The seven Democratic and two Republican members of the House Select Committee voted 9-0 in favor of issuing a subpoena for Trump to provide documents and sworn testimony in connection with the January 6 attack.
“He is the only person at the center of the story of what happened on January 6th. So we want to hear from you,” said the panel’s Democratic chairman, Representative Bennie Thompson.
The vote came after the committee spent more than two hours advocating – through member statements, documents and recorded depositions – that Trump planned to deny his 2020 election defeat in advance, which failed to cancel the thousands of supporters who stormed the Capitol Hill, and continued his false claims that the election was stolen, even when close advisers told him he had lost.
Federal law says that failure to comply with a congressional subpoena for testimony or documents is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment from one to 12 months. If the selected committee recommends a subpoena that is ignored, the House floor must vote on whether to refer to the Justice Department, which has the authority to decide whether to bring charges.
The House select committee has been investigating the Capitol Hill attack, which left more than 140 police officers injured and led to multiple deaths, for more than a year, interviewing more than 1,000 witnesses.
Source: CNN Brasil
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