Updated on 21/10/2022 at 8:45 PM
- From November 14, the former president can be questioned under oath.
- If he disobeys the subpoena, he could face criminal charges — just like his adviser Steve Bannon.
- However, it is also quite possible that the subpoena remains a symbolic act.
As reported, the former president is on the commission investigating the attack on the US Capitol
A subpoena may be a symbolic step. There is a process for bringing absent witnesses to court for contempt of Congress. But the committee has no time limit.
A new House of Representatives will be elected in November. The committee must complete its work by the end of the year – before the newly elected House of Representatives begins its work in January. And according to polls, the Republican Party, which supports Trump, is more likely to win a majority in the election. Further investigations into the attack should then be off the table.
Trump adviser Bannon faces prison term
If Trump doesn’t obey the subpoena, the House of Representatives can report him to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon For example, if you have already been convicted and have to go to jail for four months.
Trump may initially send his lawyers to court against the subpoena. Even if Trump complies with the request, he may refuse to testify, for example, not to incriminate himself. Several of his confidants exercised this right when questioned by the committee.
Trump supporters besieged the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 — right after the Republican Party emerged. The then-president once again stirred the crowd with false claims that his victory over rival Joe Biden was stolen through fraud. He called on his supporters to demonstrate in front of the Capitol, where Biden’s election victory was to be officially sealed. 5 people died in this attack.
In his first reaction last week, Trump did not comment on whether he intended to comply with the subpoena, but criticized the timing of the subpoena as too late. At the same time, he repeated his claims of “massive falsification” in the presidential election – “the reason for what happened on January 6” – which had been rejected by several courts.
Several former presidents had to testify
In its subpoena, the committee said it recognized that subpoenaing the former president was a “significant and historic” move. At the same time, they pointed out that former presidents including Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford had testified before Congress. They brought up the Roosevelt quote, according to which a former president is an American citizen like anyone else and has a duty to obey a congressional subpoena. (Best/dpa)
Former President Donald Trump has appeared before a panel investigating the attack on the US capital. Now he has responded to the summons in a 14-page letter and attacked the body. (IMAGO / Cover Images)
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