Former President subpoenaed as presidential announcement nears

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After losing the 2020 Presidental Election, President Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the United States Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

The Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol in 2021 held its last public hearing on Oct. 13. The hearing didn’t have any live witnesses. Still, the committee voted unanimously in favor of subpoenaing former President Donald Trump for testimony under oath and documents related to the investigation.

The committee was formed on July 1 and comprised seven Democrats and two Republicans of the House of Representatives. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are the only Republicans in the committee who also voted to impeach President Trump after the capitol attack. Cheney lost her primary for re-election, and Kinzinger is not seeking re-election.

According to an interview with CNN, the Vice Chair of the committee, Rep. Cheney, says they are communicating with Trump’s attorneys to get him to testify to the committee. “It’ll be done under oath. It’ll be done, potentially, over multiple days,” Cheney said.

Trump responded to the subpoena by requesting an extension to gather records and documents to cooperate with the investigation. The committee demands Trump turn in all calls and texts from that day. The subpoena ordered Trump to produce documents by November 4 and testify under oath on November 14. Trump has said he would testify as long as he could with a live public audience.

There is still speculation on if Trump is going to run for President. However, in an Ohio rally on Nov. 7, Trump said he would make a big announcement. “I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump said.

This announcement date would be one day after Trump is expected to testify to the Select Committee and one week after the midterm election. Trump believes if Republicans take control of the house, they will withdraw the subpoena.

In the summer, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California hinted in a speech of eliminating the committee if he were to become speaker of the house. “It has permanently damaged the House and divided the country,” McCarthy said. “It’s a smokescreen for Democrats to push their radical agenda.”

However, right after Jan. 6, McCarthy was reportedly planning to tell Trump to resign and believed he was responsible for the deadly attack.