Former President Donald Trump did not appear Monday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol incident last year. This prompted a terse joint statement from Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and co-Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY).
The pair said that Trump and many of his compatriots are “hiding” from the investigation and “refusing to do what more than a thousand other witnesses have done.”
The subpoena ordered the former president to submit documents to the committee by Nov. 4, though on that date it announced it had agreed to an extension on the materials.
It reiterated, however, that the Nov. 14 deadline to appear for deposition testimony remained in place.
The Democratic-led committee, with only two moderate Republican members, has spent months issuing subpoenas and parading witnesses in an attempt to pin blame for Jan. 6 directly on the former president.
Thompson and Cheney asserted that the former president’s attorneys “have made no attempt to negotiate an appearance” They accuse Trump’s legal team of trotting out arguments that have been “rejected repeatedly” by the courts.
There has not been an official statement on possible recourse for the committee, but Thompson told The New York Times that contempt charges “could be an option.”
Trump filed suit against the committee’s subpoena last week. He sought to avoid testifying or providing materials to the House panel.
NEW: Trump has effectively doomed any chance of testifying before the Jan. 6 committee, filing federal suit in south Florida to block the panel's subpoena.
There's no time to litigate this before the committee dissolves.
In short, it's over.https://t.co/QDq6dPTSwG
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 12, 2022
There have already been four instances of the House voting to hold Trump’s allies in contempt. Two, former presidential strategist Steve Bannon and former trade adviser Peter Navarro were indicted.
There have not been charges filed against former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows or aide Dan Scavino.
Far from being a fair and impartial effort, members began with a foregone conclusion and proceeded to build their case from there. There have been no opposing witnesses called, no different perspectives from the panel and no cross-examination.
And if current projections hold, Republicans will win control of the House of Representatives. This will undoubtedly put an end to the committee and its so-called investigation
