Former US President Donald is taking legal action against his subpoena by the investigative committee into the attack on the Capitol.
Trump’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in a Florida state court to challenge the panel’s subpoena. The committee had asked Trump to be available for a multi-day questioning under oath starting next Monday. This move was a rare escalation to an ex-president.
After the summons, Trump initially left open how he would react. Now he only reacted with his lawsuit shortly before the scheduled testimony date. Trump’s lawyers argued, among other things, that the committee had no authority to force the Republican to testify. In addition, the subpoena violates, among other things, the executive privilege of the ex-president. This is a President’s prerogative to keep certain information secret.
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters violently stormed the seat of parliament in the capital Washington. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech that he had been deprived of a victory by massive election fraud. Five people died as a result of the riots.
Trump is said to have known about the attack
The committee in the House of Representatives is working on the attack. In several public hearings, Trump was heavily incriminated by witnesses. According to this, Trump knew that the protesters were armed on the day of the Capitol attack and deliberately sent them to the congressional seat. Former confidants also said Trump actively attempted to overturn the election result, despite senior figures close to him openly denying allegations of voter fraud.
In addition to the summons to testify, the investigative committee also asked Trump to hand over a large number of documents. Among other things, Trump should hand over data on all phone calls, text messages and communication via the chat service Signal on the day of the attack. He should also disclose with whom he communicated in the days about the outcome of the presidential election. The committee had originally set November 4 as the deadline, but then extended it by a few days.
Republicans torpedoed the committee
Trump had repeatedly attacked the body in the past and described the allegations as lies. The committee had a difficult time from the start: the Republicans torpedoed a bipartisan investigation into the Capitol attack and ultimately also the committee more or less from the beginning. After public disputes, there are seven Democrats on the committee – and only two Republicans, both of whom are proven Trump critics and will no longer belong to the next House of Representatives.
The Congress Chamber was completely re-elected last Tuesday. It is not yet clear who will control the House of Representatives in the future. It currently looks more like the Republicans will be in charge there from January. The body is currently in the final stages of its work.
Trump is expected to announce a new presidential bid for the 2024 election next Tuesday evening (local time). Trump promised a “very big announcement” for that evening and has given specific instructions in this direction with increasing vehemence in the past few weeks and months.
The Republican is currently involved in various legal battles: Among other things, he is being investigated because he kept secret government documents in his private home Mar-a-Lago – long after he left the White House.
