Commission investigating the assault on the Capitol sends a subpoena to Donald Trump to testify

Donald Trump is finally called to the podium. The House of Representatives Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol summoned the former president to testify about the events, while demanding that the Republican present a series of documents related to what happened in that working day.

According to the Committee, these should include personal conversations between the Republican and members of Congress and even his communications with extremist groups; and they will have to be presented before November 4. For his part, Trump will have to appear at the Capitol in person or by videoconference starting on November 14 and, if necessary, for several days.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have gathered overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-party effort to nullify the 2020 presidential election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power,” the Committee noted in a letter to Trump.

On the other hand, its members assured that they understand the weight of a summons to a former president. “We recognize that subpoenaing a former president is a significant and historic action,” President Bennie Thompson and Vice President Liz Cheney said in the letter to Trump. “We do not take this action lightly,” they added.

At the moment, it is not clear whether Trump will accept the subpoena. Various outlets claim that he could ignore her and wait for the Republicans to win the midterm elections. He could also challenge the summons or try to stop it.

Today’s step is one of the most forceful to finally clarify what happened on January 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol after the former president delivered a fiery speech at a rally near the White House. with false claims that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election was a fraud.

Due to the events of that day, five people died, including a police officer. In addition, 140 officers were injured and the damage to the Capitol is estimated at millions of dollars.

What is the scope of the citation?

The type of subpoena that concerns Donald Trump is deposition testimony, which usually refers to an interrogation that can be recorded and is usually behind closed doors. Even so, the Republican’s statements could be made public in the final report to be made by the Commission.

Now, the legislators assure that despite having conducted thousands of live and recorded interviews with witnesses, and having reviewed the case through documents, it is expected that the statement by Trump, who is considered one of the main responsible for part of the Commission, can provide details about what happened on January 6.

In fact, the subpoena refers to several former advisers to Donald Trump who have appealed the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination before the Committee. “These Fifth Amendment statements, made by people with whom you interacted, relate directly to you and your conduct,” the letter states. And he assures that they are “specific examples in which his truthful testimony under oath will be important.”

In addition, lawmakers argue that without his testimony, key information about what Trump was doing during the siege of the Capitol will remain unknown.

Now, the documents requested by the Committee are diverse and seek to cover a long period: from September 1, 2020, before the elections in which the current president, Joe Biden, won, to the present.

At the same time, he made ten requests for Trump to present messages sent to members of Congress and others about what was happening on Capitol Hill through the encrypted messaging app “Signal” or “any other means.”

On the other hand, it seeks to analyze the former president’s communications with extremist groups such as the ‘Oath Keepers’ or the ‘Proud Boys’ during that period.

A defining political moment

The Committee is made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom voted in favor of subpoenaing Donald Trump. But this has time against him, because the work of this Congress will cease to exist at the end of the period, which is valid until January 3 of next year.

This term could be used by Donald Trump’s lawyers.

At the same time, it comes before the midterm elections, in which the Democrats fear losing their narrow majorities.

Thus, the Committee will have little more than two months to deliver its final report that seeks to cover thousands of testimonies and documents.

In conversation with the AP, the former acting prosecutor, Peter Keisler, assured that it is “unlikely that this can be litigated to its conclusion in the time that the Committee has left in this Congress.”

What could happen if Trump does not attend?

Although this Friday’s summons is historic due to the weight of Trump’s testimony in the face of the biggest attack on Capitol Hill in two centuries, this is not something unprecedented.

In fact, the Congress Committee assured that other presidents had already given their statements and cited seven of them. Gerald Ford, Abraham Lincoln, John Tyler and John Quincy Adams were some of the names referenced by the organization.

Although it is not clear what steps the Committee would take if the former president does not attend, it will be able to assess the practical and political implications of holding him in contempt of Congress. If considered, the full House should vote to recommend a contempt charge. Thus the Department of Justice would review the case and decide.

On the other hand, federal law says failure to comply with a congressional subpoena is a misdemeanor, punishable by one to 12 months in prison.

With Reuters and AP