Washington, Oct. 19 (BNA): A House committee tasked with investigating the January 6 rebellion in the Capitol moved quickly on Tuesday to keep at least one of Donald Trump’s allies in scorn as the former president presses the investigation into a new lawsuit. .
Trump is aggressively trying to obstruct the commission’s work by directing former White House aide Steve Bannon not to answer questions in the investigation while also suing the commission for trying to prevent Congress from obtaining past White House documents. But lawmakers on the House committee said they would not back down as they gathered facts and testimony about the attack involving Trump supporters that injured dozens of police officers, prompted lawmakers to run for their lives and stop certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.
“The ex-chair’s clear goal is to prevent the Select Committee from accessing the facts regarding January 6th and his lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to delay and obstruct our investigation,” said Chairman Benny Thompson, the Republican congressman. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, vice chair of the commission, said in a joint statement late Monday, according to the Associated Press (AP).
They added: “It is hard to imagine a more persuasive public interest than trying to get answers about an attack on our democracy and an attempt to overturn the election results.”
Trump’s suit, filed after Biden decided to waive his right to block the document’s release over executive privilege concerns, alleges that the commission’s August request was too broad and a “malicious and illegal fishing trip,” according to papers filed in federal court in the county. Colombia.
The lawsuit was expected, with Trump repeatedly making clear he would challenge an investigation into the violent attack by a crowd of his supporters. But Trump’s challenge has gone beyond the initial 125 pages of records that Biden recently agreed to release to the committee. The lawsuit, which names the committee as well as the National Archives, seeks to invalidate the entire Congressional request, calling it too loose, unnecessarily burdensome, and challenging the separation of powers. She requested an injunction to prevent the archivist from showing the documents.
The Biden administration, when filtering the documents for release, said that the violent siege of the Capitol building more than nine months ago was such an exceptional circumstance that it was worth waiving the privilege that normally protects White House communications.
The legal challenge came a day before the committee is set to vote to recommend the arrest of Bannon in a criminal contempt case of Congress for defying the committee’s demands for documents and testimony. In a decision on Monday, which is due to be voted out of the committee on Tuesday, the committee asserted that the former Trump aide and podcast host had no legal standing to reject the committee — even as Trump’s lawyer argued that Bannon should not disclose the information. Because it is protected by privilege of the office of the former president.
The committee said Bannon was a private citizen when he spoke to Trump prior to the attack, and Trump did not assert any such executive privilege to the committee itself.
“Mr. Bannon appears to have played a multifaceted role in the events of January 6th, and the American people are entitled to hear his firsthand testimony regarding his actions,” the committee wrote in the resolution.
The resolution lists many of the ways Bannon was involved in the run-up to the rebellion, including reports that he encouraged Trump to focus on January 6, the day Congress ratified the presidential vote, and his January 5 comments that she would be liberated “on the day.” the following.
Once the committee votes on Bannon’s measure of contempt, it will go to the full House of Representatives for a vote, and then move on to the Department of Justice, which will decide whether or not to prosecute.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the White House also worked to undermine Bannon’s argument. Vice Chancellor Jonathan Sue wrote that the president’s decision on the documents applies to Bannon as well, “and at this point we are not aware of any basis for your client’s refusal to appear for testimony.”
Sue wrote to Bannon’s attorney: “President Biden’s decision that the assertion of lien is unjustified with respect to these subjects applies to your client’s testimony and to any documents your client may have in connection with either subject.”
Bannon’s lawyer said he had not yet seen the letter and could not comment on it. While Bannon has said he needs a court order before complying with the subpoena, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former White House and Pentagon aide Kashyap Patel have been negotiating with the committee. It is unclear whether Dan Scavino, the former fourth White House aide, will comply.
The committee also summoned more than a dozen people who helped plan Trump’s rallies ahead of the blockade, some of whom have already said they will turn over documents and testify.
The commission requested a wide range of executive branch papers related to intelligence collected before the attack, security preparations during and before the blockade, pro-Trump rallies held that day, and Trump’s false claims that he won the election, among other things.
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