Jan. 6 Panel Votes to Subpoena Trump

'None of this would have happened without him,' says Liz Cheney
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 13, 2022 1:46 PM CDT
Updated Oct 13, 2022 2:47 PM CDT
Jan. 6 Panel Plans to Vote on Trump Subpoena
Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speak as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol holds a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Oct. 13.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Updated: The House Jan. 6 panel voted unanimously on Thursday to subpoena former President Trump to testify about his words and actions related to the Capitol riot, reports the AP. “We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player,” said Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair. "He must be accountable," added chair Bennie Thompson, per the Washington Post. Our story from earlier Thursday follows:

When Thursday's hearing of the House Jan. 6 panel began, chairman Bennie Thompson declared that the committee might vote on taking "further investigative action," without providing specifics. Now, various media outlets say they know what's going on: The panel plans to vote at the end of the hearing on issuing a subpoena to former President Trump, reports the New York Times, NBC News, and CNN. The move "would be among the most aggressive" made by the committee since it formed more than a year ago, per the Times. Whether Trump would actually comply is a big wild card, notes Politico.

A statement by committee vice chair Liz Cheney on Thursday illustrates why members want to hear from Trump himself, under oath. "The central cause of Jan. 6 was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed," said the GOP congresswoman. "None of this would have happened without him," she added. "He was personally and substantially involved in all of it." She also asserted that Trump "had a premeditated plan to declare that the election was fraudulent and stolen before Election Day." Thompson made a technical move that would allow a vote on the subpoena, changing the designation of Thursday's session from a hearing to a business meeting, per CNN. (More Jan. 6 hearings stories.)

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