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Washington — The House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 battle connected the U.S. Capitol unanimously voted Thursday to contented a subpoena to erstwhile President Donald Trump for documents and testimony.
The 9-0 ballot occurred earlier the decision of a ceremonial committee concern gathering the sheet convened Thursday, during which each of its 9 members delivered presentations astir the run by Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination and forestall the transportation of power. NBC News was archetypal to study the quality of the committee's plans to ballot connected subpoenaing Trump.
"Thanks to the tireless enactment of our members and investigators, we person near nary doubt, none, that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American ideology that straight resulted successful the unit of Jan. 6," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee's chairman. "He tried to instrumentality distant the dependable of the American radical successful choosing their president and regenerate the volition of the voters with his volition to stay successful power. He is the 1 idiosyncratic astatine the halfway of the communicative of what happened connected Jan. 6. So we privation to perceive from him."
Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said it is the committee's "obligation" to question Trump's testimony.
Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and president of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol, center, speaks during a proceeding successful Washington, D.C., connected Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
"This is simply a question astir accountability to the American people. He indispensable beryllium accountable," helium continued. "He is required to reply for his actions. He is required to reply to those constabulary officers who enactment their lives and bodies connected the enactment to support our democracy. He is required to reply to the millions of Americans whose votes helium wanted to propulsion retired arsenic portion of his strategy to stay successful power. And immoderate is underway to guarantee his accountability nether the law, this committee volition request a afloat accounting to the American radical of the events of January 6th."
Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's vice chair, offered the solution that the committee nonstop the president to contented the subpoena to Trump for documents and grounds successful transportation with the Jan. 6 battle connected the Capitol building.
"Our work contiguous is to our country, and our children, and our Constitution," she said. "We are obligated to question answers straight from the antheral who acceptable this each successful motion. And we are entitled to the answers today, truthful we tin enactment present to support our republic."
In a post connected his societal media level Truth Social, Trump questioned wherefore the prime committee did not inquire him to attest sooner.
"Why did they hold until the precise end, the last moments of their past meeting? Because the Committee is simply a full 'BUST' that has lone served to further disagreement our Country which, by the way, is doing precise severely — A laughing banal each implicit the World?" helium wrote.
Late Thursday night, helium posted determination again, saying, "The Unselect Committee is simply a elephantine Scam, presided implicit by a radical of Radical Left losers, and 2 failed Republicans, the likes of which our Country has seldom seen before. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" and promising to convey much of his thoughts Friday morning.
Thompson told reporters up of the proceedings that the committee had "not ruled out" subpoenaing Trump. While delivering an opening connection astatine the commencement of the hearing, helium noted it was a ceremonial committee concern meeting, allowing members to "potentially clasp a committee ballot connected further investigative enactment based upon that evidence."
The ballot to compel the erstwhile president to supply grounds is simply a melodramatic escalation successful the committee's investigation, crossed which the sheet conducted much than 1,000 interviews and depositions, including with a scope of White House officials, members of Trump's Cabinet, and run aides. Thompson noted the gravity of the determination to subpoena Trump, calling it "a superior and bonzer action" that warranted a ballot successful nationalist view.
Committee members repeatedly said implicit the people of its probe publically they were weighing whether to inquire Vice President Mike Pence to look earlier them, but had not yet decided whether to bash so. But asked whether the committee would subpoena the erstwhile vice president, Thompson connected Thursday said "no." Before Thursday they besides had not yet said whether they had decided to contented a subpoena to the erstwhile president.
Trump volition apt situation the prime committee's subpoena. In the past, helium has asked the national courts to intervene successful efforts by the legislature Democrats to get his taxation returns and fiscal records, arsenic good arsenic the prime committee's effort to get Trump's White House records from the National Archives and Records Administration.
In January, the Supreme Court turned down Trump's petition to artifact the release of his White House documents, and the committee received the records soon after. Only Justice Clarence Thomas noted helium would person granted Trump's petition to shield the records from House investigators.
As the committee held its gathering Thursday, the Supreme Court declined a request from Trump for it to intervene successful a quality implicit documents helium brought with him from the White House to his South Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, astatine the extremity of his presidency successful Jan. 2021. There were nary noted dissents.
Over the people of its year-long investigation, the prime committee mapped retired what it has described arsenic the multi-pronged effort by the erstwhile president to enactment successful bureau contempt losing the 2020 predetermination to President Biden.
Those efforts, which were rooted successful his baseless claims the predetermination was rife with elector fraud, culminated successful the Jan. 6, 2021, battle connected the U.S. Capitol.
House investigators held 8 nationalist hearings done the summer, with Thursday's proceeding, their ninth, apt to beryllium its last. Cheney said during opening remarks that the absorption of the gathering is Trump's "state of mind, his intent, his motivations, and however helium spurred others to bash his bidding."
"The immense value of grounds presented truthful acold has shown america that the cardinal origin of Jan. 6 was 1 man, Donald Trump, who galore others followed," she said. "None of this would person happened without him. He was personally and substantially progressive successful each of it."
In her last remarks earlier the ballot connected the subpoena to Trump, Cheney said the committee has "sufficient information" to reply questions astir the Jan. 6 assault, arsenic good arsenic "sufficient information" to see transgression referrals to respective people.
"But," she said, "a cardinal task remains: We indispensable question the grounds nether oath of January 6th's cardinal player."
Rebecca Kaplan covers Congress for CBS News.
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