U.S. House Jan. 6 committee votes to subpoena Trump - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters voted unanimously connected Thursday to subpoena the erstwhile president, a determination that could pb to transgression charges if helium does not comply.

The House prime committee's 7 Democratic and 2 Republican members voted 9-0 successful favour of issuing a subpoena for Trump to supply documents and grounds nether oath successful transportation with the storming of the Capitol.

"He indispensable beryllium accountable. He is required to reply for his actions. He is required to reply for those constabulary officers who enactment their lives and bodies connected the enactment to support our democracy. He is required to reply to those millions of Americans whose votes helium wanted to propulsion retired arsenic portion of his strategy to stay successful power," the panel's Democratic chairman, Representative Bennie Thompson, said.

The ballot came aft the committee spent much than 2 hours making its lawsuit - via statements from members, documents, and recorded grounds - that Trump planned to contradict his 2020 predetermination decision successful advance, failed to telephone disconnected the thousands of supporters who stormed the Capitol, and followed done with his mendacious claims that the predetermination was stolen adjacent arsenic adjacent advisers told him helium had lost.

Federal instrumentality says that nonaccomplishment to comply with a legislature subpoena is simply a misdemeanor, punishable by 1 to 12 months imprisonment. If the prime committee's subpoena is ignored, the afloat House indispensable ballot connected whether to marque a referral to the Department of Justice, which has the authorization to determine whether to bring charges.

LOOMING MID-TERMS

The subpoena is expected wrong days, and would typically springiness Trump a day by which helium should comply. It was not wide erstwhile the afloat House - which is retired of Washington until mid-November - could ballot connected whether to marque a transgression referral.

Trump responded to the ballot with aggravated comments connected his societal media work Truth Social. "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.

One erstwhile Trump adviser, Steve Bannon, is owed to beryllium sentenced adjacent week aft a assemblage recovered him blameworthy of contempt of Congress charges for not complying with a committee subpoena. But the Justice Department declined to complaint another, Mark Meadows, who the House had besides suggested should beryllium prosecuted.

Federal prosecutors are besides investigating the erstwhile president's removal of classified documents from the White House astatine the extremity of his term, and person warned that they judge they person not yet recovered each the documents taken.

The House prime committee has been investigating the onslaught connected the Capitol, which near much than 140 constabulary officers injured and led to respective deaths, for much than a year, interviewing implicit 1,000 witnesses.

Thompson said helium recognized that subpoenaing a erstwhile president was a superior action, but argued that the stakes were precocious for the aboriginal of U.S. democracy.

Thursday's gathering followed 8 hearings earlier this twelvemonth and 1 successful July 2021. There were nary unrecorded witnesses connected Thursday, but the sheet presented videotaped grounds to physique a lawsuit that Trump's efforts to overturn his November 2020 statesmanlike predetermination decision constituted amerciable conduct, acold beyond mean politics.

FEARS OF VIOLENCE

The committee presented grounds from Secret Service agents and quality officials who said earlier Jan.6 that they expected unit astatine the pro-Trump rally and believed determination were caches of weapons astir Washington.

"Their program is to virtually termination people. Please delight instrumentality this extremity earnestly and analyse further," a Dec. 26 Secret Service email said.

Thursday's ballot could beryllium the committee's past nationalist enactment earlier the Nov. 8 midterm elections that volition find whether President Joe Biden's chap Democrats oregon Trump's Republicans power Congress.

The committee is besides owed to merchandise a study connected its findings wrong the coming weeks.

Representative Liz Cheney, the panel's Republican vice chairperson, said the sheet mightiness yet determine to marque a bid of transgression referrals to the Department of Justice.

The hearings held this twelvemonth whitethorn person convinced immoderate Republicans that Trump bears immoderate work for the attack. A two-day Reuters/Ipsos canvass concluded connected Wednesday showed 2 successful 5 Republicans presumption Trump arsenic astatine slightest partially liable for the attack.

Previous hearings focused connected Trump's inaction earlier and during the storming of the Capitol, his unit connected Vice President Mike Pence to contradict Biden's victory, militias whose members participated successful the attack, and Trump's interactions with adjacent advisers questioning his mendacious allegations of monolithic elector fraud.

The one-time world tv prima has denied wrongdoing and hinted helium volition question the White House again successful 2024. He regularly holds rallies wherever helium continues to assertion falsely that helium mislaid the predetermination due to the fact that of wide fraud.

More than 880 radical person been arrested successful transportation with the violence, with much than 400 blameworthy pleas truthful far.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Moira Warburton and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone, Aurora Ellis and Rosalba O'Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.