The Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding the former president’s personal testimony as it unveiled new video from his closest aides describing his plan to overturn his election loss that resulted in the assault on the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump, demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video from close aides describing his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss that led to his supporters’ fierce assault on the U.S. Capitol.
House Jan. 6 select committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said the panel needs to hear from former President Trump. The Secret Service warned in a Dec. 26, 2020, email of a tip that members of the right-wing Proud Boys planned to outnumber the police in a march in Washington on Jan. 6..To describe the president’s mindset, the committee divulged new material, including interviews with Trump’s top aides and Cabinet officials — including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia — in which some described the president acknowledging that he had lost.
But rather than the end of Trump’s efforts, it was only the beginning — as the president summoned the crowd to Washington on Jan. 6. The House panel warned that the insurrection at the Capitol was not an isolated incident but a warning of the fragility of the nation’s democracy in the post-Trump era.The panel showed previously unseen footage of congressional leaders phoning officials for help during the assault as Trump refused to call off the mob.
Along with interviews, the committee is drawing on the trove of 1.5 million documents it received from the Secret Service, including an email from Dec. 11, 2020, the day the Supreme Court rejected one of the main lawsuits Trump’s team had brought against the election results.White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, recalled Trump being “fired up” about the court’s ruling.