House Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 10 former White House aides

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — House investigators issued subpoenas Tuesday to 10 erstwhile officials who worked for Donald Trump astatine the extremity of his presidency, an effort to find retired much astir what the president was doing and saying arsenic his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6 successful a bid to overturn his defeat.

The subpoenas, including demands for documents and grounds from erstwhile elder advisor Stephen Miller and erstwhile property caput Kayleigh McEnany, bring the House sheet tasked with investigating the insurrection adjacent person wrong Trump’s interior ellipse — and person to Trump himself. They travel a time aft the committee subpoenaed six different associates of the erstwhile president who dispersed mistruths astir wide fraud successful the predetermination and strategized astir however to thwart President Joe Biden’s victory.

“The Select Committee wants to larn each item of what went connected successful the White House connected January 6th and successful the days beforehand,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democratic president of the panel. “We request to cognize precisely what relation the erstwhile president and his aides played successful efforts to halt the counting of the electoral votes and if they were successful interaction with anyone extracurricular the White House attempting to overturn the result of the election.”

It is truthful acold unclear if the Jan. 6 sheet volition subpoena Trump, though the committee’s leaders person said they haven’t ruled thing out. The sheet has present issued much than 30 subpoenas, including to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, longtime state Steve Bannon and others who were adjacent to the erstwhile president.

The House aboriginal voted to clasp Bannon successful contempt aft helium said helium would not comply, and the Justice Department is inactive deciding whether to prosecute the case. Meadows and others person “engaged” with the committee, according to lawmakers, but whitethorn inactive beryllium held successful contempt if they bash not afloat comply.

The sheet has already interviewed much than 150 witnesses, and lawmakers person said they privation to not lone probe the onslaught itself but its origins — namely the lies that Trump dispersed astir monolithic elector fraud adjacent though each 50 states had certified Biden’s triumph and courts crossed the state rejected his claims. The convulsive mob of Trump’s supporters echoed those mendacious claims arsenic they pushed past police, broke done windows and doors and threatened lawmakers who were certifying the predetermination that day.

Trump continued to propulsion the mendacious communicative successful a connection responding to the subpoenas, saying the committee “is studying the PROTEST erstwhile it should beryllium studying the Fraudulent Election that led to the protest.”

The 10 erstwhile officials who were subpoenaed Tuesday either could not beryllium reached oregon did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

The sheet said Tuesday that it had issued subpoenas for Miller, who Thompson said had “participated successful efforts to dispersed mendacious accusation astir alleged elector fraud” and McEnany, who the committee said was contiguous astatine times with Trump arsenic helium watched the insurrection and spoke astatine a rally that morning.

The sheet is besides demanding documents and grounds from Keith Kellogg, erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence’s nationalist information adviser, penning successful the subpoena that it wants to perceive from him due to the fact that “you were with President Trump arsenic the January 6 onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol unfolded and person nonstop accusation astir the erstwhile president’s statements about, and reactions to, the Capitol insurrection.” His subpoena says that according to respective accounts, Kellogg urged Trump to nonstop retired a tweet aimed astatine helping to power the crowd.

Other erstwhile Trump White House aides subpoenaed Tuesday see idiosyncratic adjunct Nicholas Luna, who the sheet said whitethorn person witnessed a telephone telephone from Trump to Pence pressuring him not to certify Biden’s win; peculiar adjunct Molly Michael, who the committee said sent accusation astir predetermination fraud to “various individuals astatine the absorption of President Trump”; lawman adjunct Ben Williamson, a elder advisor to Meadows; lawman main of unit Christopher Liddell, who was successful the White House connected Jan. 6 and considered resigning, according to reports; and unit manager John McEntee and peculiar adjunct Cassidy Hutchinson, who the committee said were besides successful the White House that time and astatine the rally.

The sheet besides subpoenaed Justice Department authoritative Kenneth Klukowski, who Thompson said communicated with erstwhile elder Justice Department authoritative Jeffrey Clark astir a missive Clark sent to Georgia predetermination officials urging them to hold certification of the voting results successful that authorities due to the fact that of purported fraud.

The missive said Clark and Klukowski spoke earlier a Jan. 3 gathering astatine the White House successful which Trump contemplated replacing acting lawyer wide Jeffrey Rosen with Clark. Rosen and different leaders astatine the section had pushed backmost connected the mendacious fraud claims.

The committee has besides subpoenaed Clark, who appeared for a deposition past week but declined to testify, partially based connected Trump’s claims that documents the committee is trying to get from the National Archives are privileged. Trump has sued to shield the documents from the sheet but Biden has truthful acold said helium volition let the merchandise of astir of them.

On Monday, the sheet issued subpoenas to Bill Stepien, manager of Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign; Jason Miller, a elder advisor to the campaign; Angela McCallum, nationalist enforcement adjunct to the campaign; John Eastman, a lawyer who advised the erstwhile president; Michael Flynn, a erstwhile nationalist information advisor to Trump who talked with Trump up of the insurrection; and Bernard Kerik, who the committee says paid for edifice rooms that served arsenic bid centers up of Jan. 6.