Michael Hernandez
21 October 2022•Update: 22 October 2022
WASHINGTON
The US House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection formally subpoenaed former President Donald Trump on Friday, demanding he hand over documents and testify over the "central role" he played.
In a letter, the committee chairman and the ranking Republican said Trump "personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power."
That included, among other efforts, "purposefully and maliciously disseminating false allegations of fraud," attempting to "corrupt the Department of Justice," pressuring state officials to alter election results, and efforts to "obtain and transmit false electoral certificates to Congress and the National Archives," Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney said.
"You took all of these actions despite the rulings of more than 60 courts rejecting your election fraud claims and other challenges to the legality of the 2020 presidential election, despite having specific detailed information from the Justice Department and your senior campaign staff informing you that your election claims were false, and despite your obligation as President to ensure that the laws of our nation are faithfully executed " they wrote.
"The evidence demonstrates that you knew this activity was illegal and unconstitutional, and also knew that your assertions of fraud were false," they added.
The panel set a Nov. 4 deadline for Trump to produce the requested materials, and to appear for a deposition on Nov. 14.
Cheney and Thompson acknowledged the "significant and historic" nature of the subpoena, saying they "do not take this action lightly.
The committee is specifically seeking more information on Trump's dealings with a series of individuals who have invoked their 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination when testifying before the committee, including Roger Stone, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark and Kelli Ward.
The panel voted unanimously last week to subpoena Trump, and the former president did not signal whether or not he would comply when he sent a letter to the committee in response.
"This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election," Trump wrote in a four-page letter that read like a social media screed.
