In a joint statement from Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chairman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee criticized Trump for filing a lawsuit Friday challenging the subpoena, accusing him of “hiding” after being forced to appear due on Monday. “Although the former President initially offered to testify before the committee, he has since filed suit asking the courts to protect him from testifying. “His attorneys have made no attempt to negotiate an appearance of any kind, and his lawsuit makes many of the same arguments that the courts have repeatedly rejected over the last year,” the two said in a statement. “The truth is that Donald Trump, like several of his closest allies, is hiding from the Select Committee’s investigation and refusing to do what more than a thousand other witnesses have done,” they added. In other cases, the committee extended deadlines for those who dealt with it, and also acted quickly in cases where people defied subpoenas, including promoting votes to hold Congress in contempt, such as former White House general Stephen Bannon. “In the coming days, the committee will evaluate next steps in the trial and regarding the former president’s noncompliance,” Thompson and Cheney wrote. It is unclear whether the committee will move to hold Trump in contempt of Congress while Democrats remain in control during the session, or whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) will follow the recommendation. But the justice system in that case won’t move quickly enough to help the committee, which is expected to sunset at the end of this Congress and has little chance of being revived by Republicans if they pass the House, as expected after last week. midterm elections. The lawsuit initiated by Trump will take at least months to move through the courts, as will any prosecution by the Justice Department. The Justice Department, however, has two ongoing investigations involving Trump, one investigating Jan. 6 and the other his role in mishandling national security information by moving government records to Mar-a-Lago. Hillicon Valley — How Expanded GOP Power Will Shift Cyber Agenda Defense and National Security — Biden Cites China’s ‘Aggressive’ Stance in Taiwan The committee invited Trump to its last hearing on October 13. “He is the only person at the center of the story of what happened on January 6. So we want to hear from him. The commission must do everything in its power to tell the fullest possible story and provide recommendations to ensure that nothing like January 6th ever happens again. We need to be fair and thorough to get the full context for the evidence we have gathered,” Thompson said at the time. The next day, Trump issued a 14-page response, trumpeting many of his earlier false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
