The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol breach announced Friday it sent a subpoena to former President Donald Trump.
The committee, in a letter (pdf), wrote that it has ” assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff,” that Trump “oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.” Trump has denied such allegations, saying that the 2020 election was rigged against him.
“We recognize that a subpoena to a former President is a significant and historic action,” the panel’s leaders wrote to Trump on Friday, adding, “We do not take this action lightly.”
During its final public hearing last week, the panel unanimously voted to subpoena the former president.
Trump has not publicly responded to Friday’s announcement. Following last week’s vote, he described (pdf) the panel as a group of “highly partisan political Hacks and Thugs whose sole function is to destroy the lives of many hard-working American Patriots,” according to a 14-page letter.
The letter was titled, “PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY,” referring to a line he told protesters in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” he said at the time during a rally.
Trump’s letter did not indicate whether he would agree to testify. On Truth Social, Trump indicated that he might do so as he reposted articles suggesting he should testify before the committee.
What’s Next
If Trump decides to fight the subpoena in court, it’s likely such a legal challenge would outlast the committee’s mandate. A number of election analysts say that the GOP is likely to retake at least the House of Representatives in the forthcoming 2022 midterms.
By Jack Phillip
