Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo, said the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol would not allow former President Donald Trump to turn a possible live testimony into a “circus.”
“The committee treats this matter with great seriousness,” she told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “It may take multiple days, and it will be done with a level of rigor and discipline and seriousness that it deserves.”
In her comments, Cheney is referencing the first 2020 debate between Trump and President Biden, which became famous for its unusual amounts of incoherent statements and unfounded claims.
On Friday, the committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding records relevant to their investigation as well as his testimony under oath.
The subpoena claims that Trump took part in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and had prior knowledge of events leading up to the attack on the Capitol.
“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee’s chair, and Cheney, its vice chair, said in a letter to Trump.
It is unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond. Ignoring the subpoena could open a door of legal trouble, ending with the same fate of longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon.
Bannon was recently sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the same committee.
The possibility of Trump challenging the subpoena remains, which would result in lengthy deliberations. It is likely the House Jan. 6 committee would no longer be active by the conclusion of those legal battles.
If Republicans were to win control of the House, as expected, the committee would likely be disbanded and relinquish any powers they once had.
