The January 6 Select Committee, led by Congresswoman Liz Cheney, has voted unanimously to subpoena former president Donald Trump for his perceived role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On Thursday, the January 6th Select Committee reconvened after a short break between meetings. Their last public hearing happened on July 21 and, in the time since, new developments have been brought forth relating to that fateful day.

Y95 Country logo
Get our free mobile app

Congresswoman Liz Cheney delivered the opening remarks of the new meeting.

"Much has happened since our last public hearing on July 21st," Cheney stated. "As the Chairman mentioned, we've received new and voluminous documentation from the Secret Service, which we continue to analyze. We've received new witness testimony, including about efforts to obstruct our investigation and conceal key facts. And according to public reporting, the Department of Justice has been very active in pursuing many of the issues identified in our prior hearings. Our Committee may ultimately decide to make a series of criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, but we recognize that our role is not to make decisions regarding prosecution. The Preamble to our Constitution recites among its purposes to quote 'establish Justice,' and our nation’s Judiciary, and our U.S. Department of Justice, have that responsibility."

Cheney stated that one of the Committee's biggest goals is to propose reforms that would ensure events like what happened on January 6, 2021 never happen again.

"We've already proposed, and the House has now passed, a bill to amend the Electoral Count Act, to help ensure that no other future plots to overturn an election can succeed," Cheney said. "And we will make further specific recommendations in our final report, based in part on the evidence you will hear today."

Cheney, as the spokeswoman for the Select Committee, wasted no time in point out who they believed to be the 'central cause' of the January 6 Insurrection: Donald Trump.

"The vast weight of evidence presented so far has shown us that the central cause of January 6th was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed," she stated. "None of this would have happened without him. He was personally and substantially involved in all of it. Exactly how did one man cause all of this? Today, we will focus on President Trump’s state of mind, his intent, his motivations, and how he spurred others to do his bidding, and how another January 6th could happen again if we do not take necessary action to prevent it."

Cheney suggested that views take a few points into consideration.

"First: as you will see, President Trump had a premeditated plan to declare that the election was fraudulent and stolen before election day, before he knew the election results," Cheney stated. "He made his stolen election claims on election night against the advice of his campaign without any evidence in hand. Then, over the next two months, he sought to find those who would help him invent and spread lies about widespread fraud. Many of those who stepped forward to help, including Rudy Giuliani, knew they never had real evidence sufficient to change the election results – and on the evening of January 5th, they admitted they were still trying to find that phantom evidence. Of course, as a result of making intentionally false claims of election fraud, Mr. Giuliani’s license to practice law has now been suspended."

Cheney also said that Trump, maybe more than almost anybody, was privy to the actual absence of voter fraud.

"First: as you will see, President Trump had a premeditated plan to declare that the election was fraudulent and stolen before election day, before he knew the election results," Cheney stated. "He made his stolen election claims on election night against the advice of his campaign without any evidence in hand. Then, over the next two months, he sought to find those who would help him invent and spread lies about widespread fraud. Many of those who stepped forward to help, including Rudy Giuliani, knew they never had real evidence sufficient to change the election results – and on the evening of January 5th, they admitted they were still trying to find that phantom evidence. Of course, as a result of making intentionally false claims of election fraud, Mr. Giuliani’s license to practice law has now been suspended."

That's how Cheney began the meeting. But it was at the end of the meeting that she dropped what some believe to be the bombshell.

Cheney played clips from the Committee's interviews with Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, John Eastman, and Jeffrey Clark - all of whom plead the fifth on a variety of questions asked by the committee.

Cheney also referenced people like Steve Bannon, whom she said has been tried and convicted for contempt of court; as well as Mark Meadows, former president Trump's chief of staff whom exercised executive privilege to avoid testifying.

The January 6 Committee, Cheney said, may eventually 'unearth' facts that the aforementioned men are attempting to conceal. But the main person whom the committee want answers from is, and always has been, Donald Trump.

"We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion," Cheney closed. "And every American is entitled to those answers so we can act now to protect our Republic. So, this afternoon, I am offering this resolution that the Committee direct the Chairman to issue a subpoena for relevant documents and testimony under oath from Donald John Trump in connection with the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol."

The committee voted unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump.

The Washington Post reports that a subpoena is, basically, an order to provide evidence or appear in court. They wrote that Trump could not comply with the subpoena, but that the decision could have consequences.

"Lawmakers could ask the Justice Department to charge Trump with contempt of Congress," The Post wrote. "Stephen Gillers, a professor of constitutional law at New York University, noted that federal prosecutors may refuse such a request. Alternatively, the department could add contempt to later charges 'if it indicts him,' Gillers said."

Steve Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress when he refused to provide documents or testimony to the committee. His sentencing is scheduled for October 21 and his sentence could provide a blueprint for what might happen, should Trump refuse to comply.

The Post did note, however, that nobody has actually been incarcerated for contempt of Congress in more than 50 years.

Following the committee's announcement of indictment, former president Trump took to his social media page, Truth Social, to comment on, and criticize, their decision. In his response, Trump once again reiterated the point that many believe led to the insurrection at the Capitol in the first place.

Truth Social
Truth Social
loading...

Videos of Cheney's comments can be seen below in their entirety.

Wyoming Responds: Was January 6 an Insurrection or an Inconvenience?

More From Y95 Country