Committee investigating Capitol invasion summons Trump to testify

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol announced Friday that the jury has officially sent a subpoena to former US President Donald Trump. The Republican is touted as the central figure in a multi-step plan to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The committee issued the subpoena to try to compel Trump to testify under oath and provide documents. The jury is ordering Trump to deliver the documents by November 4 and to appear in person or virtually for “one or more days of depositions beginning November 14.”

While it is unclear whether Trump will comply with the subpoena, the action serves as a way for the committee to set a marker and make it clear that it wants information directly from Trump while the jury investigates the attack.

Trump could also fight the subpoena in court, setting up an extremely significant battle that could reach the highest level of the country’s judiciary, but it’s also possible that such a legal challenge will last longer than the committee’s term.

Prior to the subpoena’s announcement, the committee’s vice chair, Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said at an event at Harvard earlier this week that she believes Trump will fulfill his legal obligation and honor the committee’s subpoena, “but if If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll take whatever steps we need to take after that, but I don’t want to go down that path right now.”

Unlike previous subpoena announcements, the committee on Friday released the entire subpoena it sent to Trump along with the documents it is requesting.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have gathered compelling evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and employees, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-party effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power.” Cheney and Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the committee, write in the subpoena letter.

The jury summarizes what it presented at its hearings to demonstrate why it believes Trump “personally orchestrated and supervised” efforts to overturn the election.

The committee says Trump “purposely and maliciously” spread false claims that the 2020 election was stolen to help his plan to reverse the election and solicit contributions. The committee paints Trump as “orchestrating and overseeing” the effort to get bogus state voters.

The jury summary says Trump tried to “corrupt the Department of Justice” by getting officials to make “false statements”, illegally pressured state officials to alter election results, pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to refusing to count electoral votes on January 6 “despite knowing specifically that it was illegal,” and pressured members of Congress to oppose valid voters.

Trump and his legal team are discussing how to respond to the subpoena, he told CNN a source familiar with the situation, emphasizing that no firm decision has been made. Trump hired attorneys Harmeet Dhillon and Jim Trusty to take the lead in responding to the subpoena.

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

In the subpoena, the committee specifically requires Trump to deliver any communications, sent or received during the period November 3, 2020, to January 20, 2021, with more than a dozen of his close allies emerging as key actors in the broad plan. to overturn the 2020 elections:

• Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser;
• Roger Stone, a longtime Republican agent pardoned by Trump;
• Stephen Bannon, former Trump adviser, convicted of contempt of Congress;
• Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former attorney;
• Jeffrey Clark, former Justice Department official;
• John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who worked with Trump to overturn the 2020 election;
• Christina Bobb, former host of One America News Network and current Trump attorney;
• Jenna Ellis, former member of Trump’s legal team;
• Sidney Powell, former member of Trump’s legal team;
• Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer behind the legal theories to overturn the 2020 election;
• Boris Epshteyn, Trump adviser;
• Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked on the Trump campaign after the 2020 election;
• Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock and election denier.

The panel communications request includes Trump communications made through the Signal app. The committee also says it wants Trump to testify about his interactions with several individuals, including people on the same list, who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights when questioned by the committee about their relationships with the former president.

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

The House committee’s latest public hearing, in which members voted to subpoena him, served as the final argument to the American public ahead of the midterm elections that Trump is at the center of the multifaceted plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election. .

“It is our obligation to seek testimony from Donald Trump,” Thompson said before voting on the subpoena during the hearing.

Cheney said during the hearing that seeking Trump’s sworn testimony remains “a critical task” because several witnesses closest to the former president invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to his interactions with Trump.

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

*With information from Gabby Orr of CNN.