January 6 Committee: Donald Trump Failed to Comply With Subpoena

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection announced that President Donald Trump has "failed to comply" with the subpoena the committee has requested. It asked for the former president to testify before Congress and to hand over documents regarding the investigation.

Rep Bennie Thompson (D - Mississippi) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R - Wyoming), the co-chairs of the House panel for January 6, released a joint statement regarding Trump's non-compliance. They stated that they will "will evaluate the next steps in the litigation and regarding the former President's noncompliance" in the days ahead.

The January 6 Committee has been aggressive in getting statements and documents from witnesses and people involved in the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. CNN noted that they had previously held witnesses in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoenas that the panel has issued. However, the panel itself has little ability to force compliance with the subpoena quickly, as they must still go through the courts.

Donald Trump May Be Held in Contempt of Congress for Failing to Comply With Subpoena

With Trump failing to comply with the House committee subpoena, he may be facing yet another legal battle to add to his growing list of legal actions against him or his various organizations and businesses.

According to The Guardian, committee chairman Bennie Thompson stated that targeting Trump with a contempt of Congress referral "could be an option." However, the Mississippi representative added that the panel must first address the lawsuit filed by Trump and his attorneys back on November 11.

Trump and his legal team argued that ordering Trump to appear before congress to do a deposition with a subpoena is a "violation of executive privilege."

However, he and vice-chair Liz Cheney swatted that argument down, with Thompson stating that the lawsuit "parades out many of the same arguments that courts have rejected repeatedly over the last year."

The Mississippi representative also added that like some of his closest allies, Trump is "hiding from the select committee's investigation and refusing to do what more than a thousand other witnesses have done," and that is to testify in compliance with the Congress-issued subpoenas.

January 6 Committee Racing Against Time

With the current Congress now considered a lame duck as the midterm elections slowly but surely wrap up the vote counting around the country, the January 6 Committee is now racing against time to secure documents and testimony from Trump as Vice Chair Liz Cheney exits Congress after losing her primary election.

Republicans are now poised to take back the House, and it is unclear whether or not the Department of Justice would pursue the panel's recommendation. The Hill pointed out that the justice system will not move swiftly enough to aid the committee, as this Congress would soon be ending its term,

The January 6 investigation has little chance of being revived by Republicans who are poised to take the House. The Trump lawsuit makes it even more difficult for the committee, as it might take months, which is time that the panel certainly does not have.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Rick Martin

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