US Capitol riot panel subpoenas Trump allies

A committee in the US House of Representatives dedicated to investigating the assault on the US Capitol on January 6 issued six new subpoenas on Monday to allies of former President Donald Trump.

The attack saw Trump supporters push back police and storm Congress in an effort to stop the electoral count. 

What do we know about the subpoenas?

The subpoenaed individuals are accused of promoting misinformation about the 2020 US presidential election, including the unfounded claim that the voting was rigged in favor of now-President Joe Biden and against Trump. 

The Trump associates being subpoenaed include former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien, former senior adviser Jason Miller, national executive assistant to the campaign Angela McCallum, and lawyer John Eastman.

Bernard Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner who allegedly bought hotel rooms which served as "command centers" ahead of January 6, was also hit with a subpoena.

The Trump associates are asked to hand over documents and will be required to sit for dispositions beginning on November 30. 

Trump announced last month that he would sue the January 6 panel to stop documents related to the riot from being handed over to committee members. The former president has also called on his associates to not comply with subpoenas.

Trump allies accused of meddling in election process

The chairman of the committee, Democrat Bennie Thompson, said in a statement that the Trump loyalists had not only spread misinformation about the election, but also "planned ways to stop the count of Electoral College votes."

The Electoral College, which was set up by the US Constitution, is ultimately responsible for electing the president and vice president.

"The Select Committee needs to know every detail about their efforts to overturn the election, including who they were talking to in the White House and in Congress, and what connections they had with rallies that escalated into a riot, and who paid for it all," Thompson said.  

When was the House January 6 committee formed?

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was formed on July 1. It is composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans.

The committee held its first hearing on July 28, with police officers telling the panel of their experiences defending the Capitol during the riot. The panel has issued 25 subpoenas so far and interviewed over 150 witnesses behind closed doors.

A bill to set up a similar bipartisan January 6 commission in the Senate was shot down in May by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the proposal "slanted and unbalanced."

The riot on January 6 left five people dead, with over 100 police officers injured. Trump was later impeached for a second time in the Democrat-controlled House for inciting the riot, but was then acquitted of the charges in the Senate.

wd/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)