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Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics, Washington
Tom Wood
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics, Washington
Donald Trump has been issued a subpoena to provide testimony and his records amidst allegations that he ‘orchestrated’ the plot to overturn the result of the 2020 US Presidential Election.
Of course, we all know what happened – Donald Trump lost the election fair and square against current President Joe Biden, but that didn’t mean that he and his followers just accepted the result with good grace.
The rioting at the Capitol Building on January 6 2020 shocked the entire world, and now the committee that has been tasked with looking into it has called Trump forward to hear what he has to say about it, and what records he has relating to it.
It was common knowledge that the committee wanted to impel Trump to give his testimony, but they had struggled to find a lawyer that was authorised to accept the summons on behalf of the former POTUS.
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According to ABC News, several attorneys that had represented Trump at various points told the committee that they were unauthorised to accept this document.
Now, it seems as if one has been found.
The lawmakers accuse Trump of being the ‘central cause’ of the efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, which – again - Trump lost.
The nine-member panel has now issued a letter to Trump in which demands that he turn up to testify before them by no later than November 14 were made.
They also outlined a request for a number of documents, which include personal communications made by the then-President to members of Congress, as well as to members of the right-wing groups that allegedly spearheaded the unrest in Washington DC.
In the letter, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and vice chair Liz Cheney wrote: “We recognise that a subpoena to a former president is a significant and historic action,
“We do not take this action lightly.”
So far, we have no indication of how Trump, his representatives and lawyers will respond to the subpoena.
However, earlier today Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon was an early indicator of what can happen to those who decide to take these subpoenas lightly, as he was sentenced to four months in jail for contempt of Congress.
Bannon was also ordered to pay a $6,500 fine by Judge Carl Nichols, who was himself appointed by Trump.
He said that Bannon had refused to cooperate with the inquiry into what he called an ‘undeniably serious’ situation, reflected by the custodial sentence handed out.
If he does not appeal against his sentence, Bannon must report to prison on November 15, a day after Trump has to present himself before the committee.
We'll have to wait and see what he does.
No doubt it will be done in the usual Donald Trump style - which is to say - anything could happen.
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