Status: 11/12/2022 8:27 a.m
Former US President Trump is resisting his subpoena by the investigative committee into the attack on the Capitol. His lawyers filed a lawsuit. Trump cannot be forced to testify, they argued.
Former US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the subpoena before the investigative committee into the storming of the US Capitol. His attorneys called the subpoena “invalid, illegal and unenforceable.” They argued that the ex-president, nearly 22 months after leaving office, still enjoys executive privilege and cannot be compelled by Congress to testify.
The committee had asked Trump to personally testify under oath in court starting Monday. He was also asked to provide an extensive list of documents and communications related to the storming of the Capitol.
Trump confidants questioned
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol when Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election was to be finally confirmed there. The storming with five dead and around 140 injured police officers caused horror around the world.
In the weeks before, Trump had spread the false claim that massive election fraud had robbed him of a second term. In a speech immediately before the Capitol was stormed, he called on his followers to fight “whatever the hell”.
The parliamentary investigative committee has been trying to uncover the background to the attack on parliament for the past year. Numerous former Trump confidants were interviewed. The outcome of the midterm congressional elections on Tuesday is decisive for the further work of the committee of inquiry. Although not all the results are available, a majority for the Republicans is emerging. These are likely to quickly dissolve the committee of inquiry at the beginning of the new parliamentary year in January.
Trump could announce his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election next Tuesday. He had already promised a “very big announcement” for the day. Trump’s longtime adviser Jason Miller confirmed the same assumptions on Friday. Trump will announce his re-election for the presidency on Tuesday.