The House January 6 Committee has unanimously voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump and is asking him to testify about his personal experience leading up to the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
“We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6’s central player,” the committee’s vice chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), said.
The committee said in its indictment that Trump’s actions before the January 6, 2021, rally were “premeditated.”
According to the Associated Press, Trump is expected to fight the subpoena and decline to testify. On his social media outlet, Trump wrote that the panel was “a total POST.”
The panel called Trump’s behavior a “staggering betrayal” of his oath of office, also referring to his tries to stop Congress from certifying elected President Joe Biden from taking his new role.
The panel released previously unseen footage of congressional leaders calling for help on their cell phones during the January 6 assault.
“They’re breaking the law in many different ways,” Pelosi says. “And quite frankly, much of it at the instigation of the president of the United States.”
Trump did not issue an order to call off the attack.
In one video, Pelosi is on a call with the governor of Virginia as she shelters in place with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and others. Another shows Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders asking the Defense Department for help.
Vice President Mike Pence is seen trying to calm Congress in a video, saying he had spoken with Capitol Police.
The video came from Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra, a documentary filmmaker.
The panel also released Secret Service text messages that showed that extremist groups provided the “muscle” in the assault on the Capitol.
In a December 26, 2020, email, an agent wrote that members of the right-wing Proud Boys planned to outnumber the police on January 6.
“It felt like the calm before the storm,” one agent wrote in a group chat.
Related:
5 Key Takeaways from Cassidy Hutchinson's January 6 Testimony
5 Key Takeaways from the January 6 Committee Hearing, Day 4
January 6: What 5 Christian Leaders Said on the One-Year Anniversary
Youth Pastor Arrested by FBI for Involvement in January 6 Capitol Riot
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Drew Angerer/Staff
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
