January 6 Hearings: Donald Trump Sues House Committee to Avoid Giving His Testimony

Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot to avoid testifying at the January 6 hearings. Trump was issued a subpoena by the committee in October that required him to testify.

According to the Associated Press, the suit filed Friday evening argued that while former presidents have voluntarily given testimony or documents in response to congressional subpoenas, "no president or former president has ever been compelled to do so."

Trump attorney David A. Warrington noted that the "long-held precedent and practice maintain that separation of powers prohibits Congress from compelling a President to testify before it," adding that Trump had already engaged with the committee in good faith in an effort to resolve "concerns consistent with Executive Branch prerogatives and separation of powers."

The Trump lawyer also argued that the House Committee panel also insisted on pursuing a political path and left the former president with no choice but to involve the judiciary in this dispute between the executive and legislative branches.

Donald Trump and His Lawyers Accused of Delaying Tactics

The former president presented to the court his team's recent letters with the House committee that showed how the panel zeroed in on obtaining records of his electronic communication on his personal phone from January 6 last year.

The letters noted that the committee also sought every communication device he used from the day of the elections until he left the presidency.

Trump was supposed to hand them over by November 4, and because this date was not met, the House committee accused Trump and his legal team of delaying tactics.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chairs the committee, noted that "given the timing and nature of the letter, without any acknowledgment that Trump will ultimately comply with the subpoena, appeared to be a delaying tactic.

According to CNN, Trump's legal team replied on November 9 that he would not testify and found no records to turn over related to personal communications.

The team further noted that the former president "voluntarily directed a reasonable search for documents in his possession" that could fit those two categories but did not find anything.

Judge Sanctions Donald Trump Lawyers in Failed Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton and Democrats

The news of Donald Trump's lawsuit comes after a federal judge ordered sanctions against his attorneys for a failed lawsuit he filed against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and numerous others.

Donald Trump claimed that they all conspired to undermine the 2016 presidential election but did not present any substantial evidence to back those claims.

According to CNN, Trump lawyers Alina Habba, Michael Madaio, Peter Ticktin, Jamie Alan Sasson, and their law firms were ordered by Judge Donald Middlebrooks to pay $50,000 in penalties to the court, and $16,274.23 in legal fees to Charles Dolan, one of the people Trump accused.

The judge, who was also the one who dismissed the lawsuit, called it a "two-hundred page political manifesto." He said the lawyers ignored warnings from Dolan and his attorney that their facts were wrong, including basic information such as where he lived.

The judge noted that Trump's legal team "either knowingly false or made in reckless disregard for the truth." Dolan was a volunteer on the Clinton campaign.

Middlebrooks added that Trump "deliberately misrepresented public documents by selectively using some portions while omitting other information," He noted that the lawsuit was a "deliberate use of the judicial system to pursue a political agenda."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Donald Trump Files Lawsuit to Block Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena - From CBS New York