A House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol has issued its first subpoenas, demanding records and evidence from four of former US president Donald Trump’s close advisers and associates, including those who were in contact with him before the attack or on the day.
In a significant escalation for the panel, committee chairman Bennie Thompson announced the subpoenas of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino, former Defence Department official Kashyap Patel and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. The four men are among Mr Trump’s most loyal aides.
Mr Thompson wrote to the four that the committee is investigating “the facts, circumstances, and causes” of the attack and asked them to produce documents and appear at depositions in mid-October.
The panel is launching the interview phase of its investigation after sorting through thousands of pages of documents requested in August from federal agencies and social media companies. The committee has also requested a trove of records from the White House.
The goal is to provide a complete accounting of what went wrong when the Trump loyalists beat police, broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of president Joe Biden’s victory — and to prevent anything like it from ever happening again.
In a statement, Mr Trump said “we will fight the Subpoenas on Executive Privilege” and suggested that the panel should call witnesses to testify about the “Rigged Presidential Election of 2020″.
Multiple courts, elections officials and even Mr Trump’s own attorney general have found no evidence of widespread fraud.
Although he has signalled his refusal to hand over any details to Congress, he does not necessarily have the final word now that he’s out of office. According to an executive order on presidential records, the archivist in possession of the records “shall abide by any instructions given him by the incumbent president or his designee unless otherwise directed by a final court order”.
The White House has indicated it is inclined to release as many of the documents as possible, but officials are not ruling out that there could be individual records Mr Biden may deem privileged.
Mr Thompson says in letters to each of the witnesses that investigators believe they have relevant information about the lead-up to the insurrection.
In the case of Mr Bannon, Democrats cite his January 5th prediction that “(a)ll hell is going to break loose tomorrow” and his communications with Mr Trump a week before the riot in which he urged the president to focus his attention on January 6th.
In the letter to Mr Meadows, Mr Thompson cites his efforts to overturn Mr Trump’s defeat in the weeks before the insurrection and his pressure on state officials to push the former president’s false claims of widespread voter fraud.
“You were the president’s chief of staff and have critical information regarding many elements of our inquiry,” Mr Thompson wrote.
“It appears you were with or in the vicinity of President Trump on January 6, had communication with the president and others on January 6 regarding events at the Capitol and are a witness regarding the activities of the day.”
Mr Thompson wrote that the panel has “credible evidence” of Mr Meadows’ involvement in events within the scope of the committee’s investigation. That also includes involvement in the “planning and preparation of efforts to contest the presidential election and delay the counting of electoral votes”.
The letter also signals that the committee is interested in Mr Meadows’ requests to Justice Department officials for investigations into potential election fraud. Former attorney general William Barr has said the Justice Department did not find fraud that could have affected the election’s outcome.
The panel cites reports that Mr Patel, a Trump loyalist who had recently been placed at the Pentagon, was talking to Mr Meadows “non-stop” the day the attack unfolded.
In the letter to Mr Patel, Mr Thompson wrote that based on documents obtained by the committee, there is “substantial reason to believe that you have additional documents and information relevant to understanding the role played by the Defence Department and the White House in preparing for and responding to the attack on the US Capitol”.
Mr Scavino was with Mr Trump on January 5th during a discussion about how to persuade members of Congress not to certify the election for Mr Biden, according to reports cited by the committee. On Twitter, he promoted Mr Trump’s rally ahead of the attack and encouraged supporters to “be a part of history”.
In his letter, Mr Thompson said the panel’s records indicate Mr Scavino was “tweeting messages from the White House” on January 6th.
Mr Thompson wrote that it appears Mr Scavino was with Mr Trump on January 6th and may have “materials relevant to his videotaping and tweeting” messages that day. He noted Mr Scavino’s “long service” to the former president, spanning more than a decade.
At least nine people who were at the Capitol on the day died during and after the rioting, including a woman who was shot by police as she tried to break into the House chamber and three other Trump supporters who suffered medical emergencies.
Two police officers died by suicide in the days that immediately followed, and a third officer, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, collapsed and died after engaging with the protesters. A medical examiner later determined he died of natural causes.
