Just in time for the midterm elections, the House Democrats’ special committee investigating the disruption in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 has issued a subpoena for former President Donald J. Trump.
The partisan committee reconvened on Thursday explore evidence related to the Capitol rally that turned unruly in an attempt by some to stop the certification of the flawed 2020 election that brought Joe Biden into power.
“Claims that President Trump actually thought the election was stolen are not supported by fact and are not a defense,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, who will not be returning as a House member in January due to her voters in Wyoming turning against her. “There is no defense that Donald Trump was duped or irrational. No president can defy the rule of law and act this way in a constitutional republic.”
“We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player,” Cheney said, noting that the committee has credible evidence that multiple individuals engaged in criminal acts that need to be referred to law enforcement.
Democrat Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said, “The need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond fact,” Thompson said. “This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions. What Donald Trump proceeded to do after the 2020 election is something no president has done before in our country. In a staggering betrayal of his oath, Donald Trump attempted a plan that led to an attack on a pillar of our democracy.”
There have been eight hearings so far, the last one in July. Thursday’s hearing will probably be the last one before the midterm elections, but is almost certain to have an effect on the election outcome, since the process has been so polarizing to the country.
The committee says it has a videotaped recording of a witness inside Trump’s inner circle that show that Trump never intended to concede the election. The committee said Trump was driving the entire plan to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College.
“Trump did nothing to stop the deadly violence for obvious reasons: He thought it was all justified, he incited it, and he supported it,” Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said. “Despite desperate pleas from Congress, his family and advisers, Trump sat in the White house dining room blithely watching the carnage unfold on Fox News,” Raskin said.
The committee, using its power to influence the midterm elections, posted the entire proceedings for Thursday on Twitter:
