Jan. 6 panel issues formal subpoena to Donald Trump

Former US President Donald Trump was officially issued a subpoena on Friday by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

The nine-member committee is demanding Trump's testimony under oath on or around November 14 — the Monday after the crucial November 8 midterm elections. The panel voted unanimously last week to issue a subpoena to Trump, with members having worked the last few days to prepare the demand.

Subpoena is 'historic action'

"We recognize that a subpoena to former President Trump is significant and historic action," Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Republican Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney wrote in a letter to Trump's lawyers. 

"We do not take this action lightly," they added. 

The panel outlined a request for a series of corresponding documents, including personal communications between the former president and members of Congress.

Seven Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom have been selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, make up the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot by Trump supporters.

Trump told his supporters to "fight like hell" in a speech near the White House on January 6, 2021. H was impeached, for the second time in his one-term presidency, for inciting the mob to storm Congress.

Trump 'personally orchestrated' effort to overthrow 2020 election

The committee, in its letter to Trump's legal team, said it has assembled "overwhelming evidence" that Trump "personally orchestrated" an effort to overturn the 2020 election.

It said Trump tried doing so in several ways, including by spreading false allegations of voter fraud, by "attempting to corrupt" the Justice Department and by pressuring state officials, members of Congress and his then-Vice President Mike Pence to try to change the results.

Exact details about what Trump was doing and saying during the siege that saw Trump supporters storm the Capitol building as lawmakers met to confirm the election of President Joe Biden remain unknown.

The committee said that only Trump was in a position to fill in those gaps.

The letter also accused Trump of attempting to overthrow the election in spite of knowing claims of voter fraud had been rejected by more than 60 courts. 

"In short, you were at the center of the first and only effort by any US president to overturn an election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power, ultimately culminating in a bloody attack on our own Capitol and on the Congress itself," the letter said.

Without confirming Trump had received the subpoena, his lawyer David Warrington said his team would "review and analyze" the document and "respond as appropriate to this unprecedented action."

Bannon sentenced, classified intel on China reportedly at Trump's home

Relatedly, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison earlier Friday for failing to comply with subpoenas from the committee.

In addition, The Washington Post reported Friday that highly sensitive documents on Iran and China were among the documents recovered from Trump's home in Florida.

The US Justice Department is investigating whether Trump broke the law by taking government records, including about 100 classified documents, to his Florida estate after leaving office in January 2021.  

rm/wd (AP, Reuters)