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Trump subpoena vote

6 January Latest: Committee votes to subpoena President Trump

6 January Latest: Committee votes to subpoena President Trump
Empty committee seats ahead of a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. The committee investigating last year's attack on the US Capitol makes what might be its final return to live television today to discuss new evidence, underscore main findings and air unused video footage and testimony.

The House Committee investigating last year’s attack on the US Capitol convened for what might be its final investigatory hearing in a two-hour push to discuss new evidence, underscore main findings and air unused video footage and testimony.

The hearing is the panel’s first public session since the July 21 conclusion of its eight spring-summer sessions looking into the events of 6 Jan, 2021.

The committee’s next step will be to compile its findings in an interim report it plans to release before the November midterm elections, followed by the complete report in coming months.

Committee votes to subpoena former President Trump (3:30 p.m.)

The committee voted to subpoena Donald Trump to testify and provide documents about his actions on 6 Jan, a dramatic challenge to the former president as the congressional probe wraps up work.

A subpoena likely wouldn’t force immediate testimony from Trump, who has a record of using extensive maneuvers to delay legal proceedings. But it’s an escalation of the committee’s demands to hold Trump accountable for his actions surrounding the assault.

“He is required to answer for his actions. He is required to answer for those police officers” who put their lives on the line, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said. “And Trump is required to answer to millions of Americans whose votes he wanted to throw out.”

“So it is our obligation to seek Donald Trump’s testimony,” Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said.

Footage shows congressional leaders seeking help to stem violence (3:20 p.m.)

In footage that has not previously been aired, the committee shared video of House and Senate leaders in their safe rooms in the Capitol asking for assistance from Vice President Mike Pence, the Maryland National Guard and the Department of Defense to stop the violence at the Capitol.

The shaky video showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell getting updates from their staffs about the damage occurring in the building and reports about lawmakers who were not yet in safe locations.

“They’re breaking windows and going in and obviously ransacking our offices and all the rest of that. That’s nothing,” Pelosi said in the video. “The concern we have about personal safety has transcended everything,” adding that the riot was at Trump’s urging.

Secret Service Intelligence Revealed Plans to Attack US Capitol (3:05 p.m.)

Despite the deletion of Secret Service texts and emails from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 last year, the committee said it was able obtain records showing the agency had learned of plans to attack the US Capitol.

Representative Adam Schiff of California said the committee has almost 1 million emails, recordings and other electronic records from Secret Service that it continues to review.

They included emails the Secret Service received on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 saying protesters were “armed and ready” and “their plan is to literally kill people.” There were also tips that the Proud Boys planned to march armed to the Capitol, Schiff said.

A Secret Service message was also shown from Dec. 11, after the US Supreme Court declined to take on a last-minute challenge to the election: “Just fyi. POTUS is [angry] — breaking news — Supreme Court denied his lawsuit. He is livid now.”

Committee plans to vote on subpoena of Trump (2:30 p.m.)

The committee intends to vote on a subpoena of former President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar.

The vote would be a bold move to try to compel Trump to testify about what he knew about the deadly attack on the US Capitol.

A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a hearing on Thursday, the panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans presented evidence that Trump plotted to stay in the White House even before Election Day in 2020, no matter the result of the vote.

NBC first reported the committee’s plans.

Trump confidante Stone said Trump would declare victory before vote (1:45 p.m.)

Days before the 2020 presidential election, Trump confidante Roger Stone told a documentary film crew that Trump should claim victory regardless of the outcome and Stone seemed to be preparing for violence.

“F- the voting, let’s get right to the violence,” Stone says in a video snippet the committee played, during which he appears to be walking through an airport.

But Stone told Bloomberg News the panel’s evidence was nothing more than “guilt by association.”

“Any claim or accusation that I knew in advance about, participated in or condoned any illegal act on January 6 categorically false in today’s committee hearing has produced no actual evidence to the contrary,” Stone said.

Another clip the committee presented, also recorded before the election, showed Stone advocating prematurely declaring victory.

“I suspect it will still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. No, we won,” Stone says in the video.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, who presented the video clip, also described connections between Stone and paramilitary groups involved in the Capitol attack, including three members of the Oath Keepers who provided security for Stone.

Trump planned to declare victory regardless of vote outcome (1:15 p.m.)

Then-President Trump planned to falsely claim that he won the 2020 election even before votes were counted despite aides discouraging him to do so, panel members said.

“President Trump had a premeditated plan to declare the election was fraudulent and stolen before Election Day,” Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney said in her opening remarks in the hearing.

Cheney note also said Trump was actually in a better position than almost any other American to have information there was no evidence to support those claims. “There is no defense that Donald Trump was duped or irrational,” Cheney said.

Lofgren said “The evidence shows that his false victory speech was planned well in advance, before any votes had been counted. It was a premeditated plan by the president to declare victory no matter what the actual result was. He made a plan to stay in office before Election Day.”

Raskin says ‘Everyone can judge for themselves’ (12:45 p.m.)

Representative Jamie Raskin, speaking to reporters before the hearing begins, promised committee members would establish Trump’s role.

“We’ll be able to tell the story of the central culpability of Donald Trump in promoting his attempted coup and the insurrection against Congress and his vice president,” said Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Jan. 6 committee.

Asked about material the committee gathered from the Secret Service, Raskin said “Everyone can judge for themselves the various actors involved.”

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  • Cunningham Ngcukana says:

    We are told that old people are helpless by Malema in the JSC as we are his bloody fools and we do not see those who are a threat to the edifice of 1994. The decision to subpoena Trump a well know political vandal who continues to be a threat to the American democracy and its institutions has been called to account by the January 6 Committee. Something a democracy has to be proud of when public representatives stand up to defend the edifice of the American democracy and Liz Cheney rather than suck to Trump and a Republican Party capture by the thugs of MAGA made her choice. Malema has the nerve to the tell the country that Zuma is not a danger to the Constitution when that fellow should be in the dock for treason given the evidence before the Zondo Commission. After his case, he goes out to insult our intelligence along his society of clowns that he was sentenced without trial. We know what happens in motion courts where matters are argued on the papers filed and a decision is then arrived on the basis of arguments based on papers. He failed to file papers out of choice he claims that he is illiterate on law but goes around just like Trump peddling lies that he was sentenced without trial including by Jimmy Manyi. The American people and their system has not given any quarter to all those who have vandalised their democracy and country. We ought to throw the book on all those who were behind the July criminality without any mercy so that an example is made for any fool.

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