Committee investigating attack on Capitol Hill summons top advisers to Trump - ISTOÉ MONEY

(6 Jan) Police Contains Donald Trump Supporters During Capitol Invasion – AFP/Archives

Congressmen investigating the Jan. 6 invasion of the US Capitol decided on Monday to subpoena advisers to former President Donald Trump, accused of conspiring to try to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

Congressman John Eastman is among the aides called to explain his role in the talks that took place at the Willard InterContinental hotel in the days surrounding the attack, in which a mob of Trump supporters stormed Congress to prevent certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

Eastman is accused, among other things, of having written a memo telling Trump that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject the results in some states and deny Biden’s victory. He is also reported to have organized a meeting on Jan. 2, in which he told some 300 congressmen that it was his duty to fix “this outrageous conduct and ensure that we are not putting an unelected person in the White House.”

“Your documents and testimony are directly relevant to the select committee’s investigation, as you appear to have been instrumental in advising President Trump that Vice President Pence could determine which voters would be recognized on January 6, a view apparently shared by many of those who attacked the Capitol,” the committee points out in the subpoena addressed to Eastman.

The other subpoenas are mainly aides or official members of Trump’s campaign, responsible for supporting the false thesis that the presidential election was stolen. Among them are former New York Police Commander Bernard Kerik and former campaign spokesman Jason Miller, present at the Willard Hotel on Jan. 5.

“The select committee needs to know every detail about their efforts to reverse the election, including who they spoke to in the White House and Congress, what links they had to rallies that turned into riots, and who paid for it all,” Bennie said. Thompson, chairman of the committee.

This is the first round of subpoenas issued by the committee since the House of Representatives asked the Department of Justice to file criminal contempt charges against Trump ally Steve Bannon for contesting an order to appear in Congress.