By Patricia Zengerle and Jan Wolfe
The U.S. congressional committee probing the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol said on Tuesday it had issued subpoenas seeking documents and testimony from more associates of former President Donald Trump, including senior adviser Stephen Miller, former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and other White House aides.
U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee, said in a statement that it wants to “learn every detail of what went on in the White House” on Jan. 6 and the days immediately preceding the attack.
“We need to know precisely what role the former President and his aides played in efforts to stop the counting of the electoral votes and if they were in touch with anyone outside the White House attempting to overturn the outcome of the election,” Thompson said.
Trump said in a statement that the subpoenas were politically motivated.
The panel has now issued 35 subpoenas and received testimony from more than 150 witnesses. It had announced six — for Trump associates including top aides from the Republican’s failed 2020 re-election campaign — on Monday.
More than 670 people have been charged with taking part in the riot at the Capitol as Congress and Vice President Mike Pence were to certify Democrat Biden’s defeat of Trump. It was the worst attack on the seat of the U.S. government since the War of 1812 and the only time power in the United States has not been transferred peacefully.
Trump has filed suit to avoid turning over White House documents and urged former aides to reject panel subpoenas, claiming the right to withhold information because of executive privilege, a legal principle that protects many White House communications.
Legal experts have disputed his claim that the principle applies.
The House voted last month to hold longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt over his refusal to cooperate.
Reuters
