Trump Issued Subpoena by Jan. 6 Panel, Setting Up Legal Battle - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 onslaught issued a subpoena connected Friday to Donald J. Trump, taking its astir assertive measurement yet and paving the mode for a perchance historical tribunal combat implicit whether a erstwhile president tin beryllium compelled to reply questions earlier a legislative sheet looking into matters related to a continuing transgression investigation.

The subpoena drastically escalated the stakes of what was already the astir consequential legislature probe successful decades. Coming weeks earlier the midterm elections, the subpoena threatened to thrust Mr. Trump and the Jan. 6 committee into a protracted ineligible conflict that could yet beryllium decided by the United States Supreme Court.

The subpoena to Mr. Trump requires him to crook implicit documents by Nov. 4 and to look for a deposition connected Nov. 14.

Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and the committee’s vice chairwoman, said this week that if Mr. Trump refused to comply, the lawmakers would “take the steps we request to instrumentality aft that,” though it was unclear however palmy their enforcement efforts would be, peculiarly if Republicans instrumentality power of the House successful January and disband the committee.

The sheet voted unanimously past week to contented a subpoena to Mr. Trump, and unit members worked for respective days preparing the demand. Committee lawyers were successful interaction with representatives for the erstwhile president, inquiring astir which of Mr. Trump’s galore lawyers would beryllium consenting to judge work of the subpoena.

After overmuch interior discussion, Mr. Trump’s squad tasked the Dhillon Law Group, which has represented respective witnesses earlier the Jan. 6 committee, to grip the matter, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the decision.

The erstwhile president past week released a lengthy, rambling letter that attacked the committee’s enactment and reiterated mendacious claims of wide voting fraud but did not code whether helium would comply with the subpoena.

Mr. Trump has indicated privately to aides that helium would beryllium consenting to attest to the House panel, but lone if helium could bash truthful live, according to a idiosyncratic adjacent to him. Committee and unit members person suggested that they are unfastened to the idea, believing the sheet could astir apt elicit immoderate important disclosures from the erstwhile president’s testimony.

Mr. Trump could enactment himself successful ineligible jeopardy if helium testifies. He has a penchant for stating falsehoods, and it is simply a national felony to bash truthful earlier Congress. It was revealed by a national justice connected Wednesday that Mr. Trump had signed a papers swearing nether oath that accusation successful a Georgia suit helium filed challenging the results of the 2020 predetermination was true, adjacent though his ain ineligible squad made him alert it was false.

There are risks for the committee arsenic well. Mr. Trump’s missive past week was the latest reminder that helium would beryllium apt to usage immoderate unfettered accidental for live, nationalist grounds to proceed to perpetuate the aforesaid lies astir the 2020 predetermination that fueled the Capitol riot connected Jan. 6, 2021; and determination is nary warrant that helium would reply immoderate substantive questions.

In addition, it was unclear whether specified an quality would instrumentality place. Legal experts doubted that immoderate lawyer representing the erstwhile president would let him to testify. And contempt repeatedly claiming successful nationalist that helium would, Mr. Trump did not attest during either of his 2 impeachment trials, nor did helium beryllium down with the peculiar counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who was investigating whether helium obstructed justness and his campaign’s ties to Russia. Mr. Trump yet provided Mr. Mueller with written answers successful effect to his questions.

After interviewing much than 1,000 witnesses and obtaining millions of pages of documents, the Jan. 6 committee has presented a sweeping summation of its lawsuit placing Mr. Trump astatine the halfway of a calculated, multipart effort to overturn the ballot that began adjacent earlier Election Day.

Despite losing the election, Mr. Trump ignored the facts and aggressively sought to subvert the results, pressuring authorities officials, strong-arming Justice Department leaders and seeking to make fake slates of pro-Trump electors successful states that Joseph R. Biden Jr. had won, according to grounds presented by the committee. Then, with his clasp connected powerfulness slipping, Mr. Trump called a assemblage of his supporters to Washington connected Jan. 6, 2021, mobilizing far-right extremists, and told them to march connected the Capitol. As hundreds of radical stormed the building, assaulting constabulary officers and disrupting the certification of the election, Mr. Trump did thing for hours to halt the violence, the committee has shown.

Mr. Trump and his allies are the absorption of respective transgression investigations, including into the events that led to the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the Capitol. The Justice Department is conducting its ain sprawling enquiry into the roles Mr. Trump and immoderate of his allies played successful seeking to subvert the 2020 election. In addition, Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area territory attorney, has been starring a wide-ranging transgression investigation into the efforts to overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment successful Georgia.

The committee has astatine times acted aggressively to enforce its subpoenas. The House has voted 4 times to clasp successful contempt of Congress allies of Mr. Trump who refused to attest oregon proviso documents. Two of those allies — Stephen K. Bannon, an extracurricular advisor who concisely worked successful the Trump White House, and Peter Navarro, the erstwhile White House commercialized advisor — were indicted. The Justice Department declined to complaint 2 others: Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s last main of staff, and Dan Scavino Jr., different apical aide.

Mr. Bannon has been convicted and was sentenced connected Friday to 4 months successful jailhouse and a good of $6,500. Mr. Navarro’s proceedings is scheduled for adjacent month.

Contempt of Congress carries a punishment of up to a twelvemonth successful jailhouse and a maximum good of $100,000.

There is nary Supreme Court precedent that says whether Congress has the powerfulness to compel a erstwhile president to attest astir his actions successful office. Former presidents person responded successful a assortment of ways to requests — oregon demands — from Congress.

Several voluntarily testified earlier Congress, including Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman and Gerald R. Ford.

When Mr. Roosevelt testified successful 1911, helium made wide his presumption that it was the duty of a erstwhile president to comply with a petition from Congress, saying: “An ex-president is simply a national of the United States, similar immoderate different citizen, and it is his plain work to effort to assistance this committee oregon respond to its invitation.”

At slightest 3 erstwhile presidents person been issued legislature subpoenas. In 1846, John Tyler testified, and John Quincy Adams submitted a deposition. But successful 1953, Mr. Truman refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee, citing precedents from George Washington and different presidents who besides refused to supply Congress with definite documents.

“It indispensable beryllium evident to you that if the doctrine of separation of powers and the independency of the presidency is to person immoderate validity astatine all, it indispensable beryllium arsenic applicable to a president aft his word of bureau has expired,” Mr. Truman wrote.

But helium aboriginal reached a antithetic decision and testified earlier Congress multiple times aft leaving office.

In 1998, Bill Clinton was issued a subpoena — though by an autarkic counsel, not a legislature committee — during the investigation into whether helium had made mendacious statements nether oath astir his extramarital affairs. Prosecutors agreed to driblet the subpoena aft Mr. Clinton agreed to an interview.

Luke Broadwater reported from Washington, and Michael S. Schmidt from New York. Maggie Haberman contributed reporting from New York.