Capitol Attack Inquiry Summons For Trump Will Meloni Get Ordered To Form Government Today?

As announced, the Commission of Inquiry into the attack on the US Capitol has summoned ex-President Donald Trump. He must hand over the requested documents no later than November 4 and be available under oath from November 14 for a multi-day investigation, according to the letter published on Friday. It is not yet clear whether Trump will comply with the subpoena or act against it. The House of Representatives committee decided last week to subpoena Trump.

The subpoena could remain a symbolic step. There is a process to bring defaulting witnesses to court for contempt of Congress. But the committee is running out of time.

A new House of Representatives will be elected in November. The committee should finish its work by the end of the year, before the newly elected House of Representatives begins work in January. And polls say the Republican Party, which is largely pro-Trump, is likely to win a majority in the election. Then further investigation into the attack should be off the table.

If Trump does not obey the subpoena, the House of Representatives could report him to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. For example, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has already been convicted and is facing four months in prison.

Trump may also initially send his lawyers to court against the subpoena. And even if Trump were to heed the request, he could refuse to testify, such as not to incriminate himself. Several of his confidential advisers had made use of this right when questioned by the committee.

Trump supporters stormed the US parliament building on January 6, 2021 – right after the Republican appeared. The then president once again stirred up the crowd with false claims that his win over challenger Joe Biden was stolen by fraud. He called on his supporters to protest in front of the Capitol, where Biden’s election victory was about to be officially sealed. Five people were killed in the attack.

In an initial response last week, Trump declined to comment on whether he wanted to comply with the subpoena, only criticizing the time for the subpoena as being late. At the same time, he reiterated his claims, which had been refuted by many courts, about “mass falsification” in the presidential election – “the reason for what happened on January 6.”

The commission stressed in its subpoena that it was aware that subpoenaing an ex-president was an “important and historic” step. At the same time, they pointed out that Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Gerald Ford, among others, had testified before Congress as ex-presidents. They emphatically brought up Roosevelt’s quote that an ex-president is simply an American citizen like anyone else and it is his duty to comply with a Congressional subpoena. (sda/dpa)