The United States House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol has voted on Thursday unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump.
According to the panel, Trump must be held accountable for the attack by his supporters and his failure to honour the summon could lead to criminal charges against him.
The vote came after the committee spent more than two hours addressing its case – via statements from members, documents, and recorded testimony – that Trump planned to deny his 2020 election defeat in advance.
Reuters reported the committee also established the ex-President failed to call off the thousands of supporters who invaded the Capitol and followed through with his false claims that the election was stolen even as close advisers told him he had lost.
The committee’s seven Democratic and two Republican members voted 9-0 in favour of issuing a subpoena for Trump to provide documents and testimony under oath in connection with the storming of the Capitol.
The panel’s Democratic chairman, Bennie Thompson, said, “He (Trump) must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions. He is required to answer for those police officers who put their lives and bodies on the line to defend our democracy.
“He is required to answer to those millions of Americans whose votes he wanted to throw out as part of his scheme to remain in power.”
The subpoena is expected within days and would give Trump a date by which he should comply. It was not clear when the full House – which is out of Washington until mid-November – could vote on whether to make a criminal referral.
Federal law says that failure to comply with a congressional subpoena is a misdemeanour, punishable by one to 12 months imprisonment.
