The January 6 special committee, which had recommended the Department of Justice to prosecute Donald Trump, has withdrawn its subpoena for the former president. Though the panel's chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Trump's testimony is no longer needed, the former President shot back saying that the subpoena was dropped as it would be thrown out by the courts.
"In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena ... Therefore, through this letter, I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena," the panel chairman sai
'Vindicated'
The committee probing the January 6,2020 insurrection at the Capitol, subpoenaed Trump in October but the former president demanded the withdrawal of the subpoena and sued the panel in response.
Following the panel's decision to drop the subpoena, Trump said it vindicated him and that the committee was aware that he did nothing wrong.
"Was just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena of me concerning the January 6th Protest of the CROOKED 2020 Presidential Election. They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court. Perhaps the FBI's involvement in RIGGING the Election played into their decision. In any event, the Subpoena is DEAD!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Court Battle and Midterm Elections
Though Trump lawyers had initially said he would comply with the committee directive, the team later chose to take the legal route, effectively blocking the panel from completing the proceedings before the 2022 midterm elections.
The Republicans have a narrow edge in Congress following the net gains they made in the November elections. As per the Congress power dynamics at the moment, the Democrats will find it hard to push through the subpoena, which promtped them to wind down the operations of the committee and drop the subpoena.
Although Trump suggested on Wednesday that the subpoena withdrawal was evidence that the committee was convinced of his innocence, the panel's 845-page final report actually said that he was the "central cause" of the Capitol insurrection and responsible for a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
DOJ Recommendation
Early last week, the Select Committee said the Department of Justice (DOJ) can move to charge Trump on various counts related to instigating supporters. The panel recommended that the former president can be potentially prosecuted on four counts related to attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
According to the panel, there was evidence that Trump committed crimes such as obstructing the official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, making knowingly and willfully make materially false statements to the federal government, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.
The charges against Trump were serious and sought to block him from running for the White House in 2024. If Trump is convicted of the charges raised by the panel, he could even be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison, according to reports. Besides, he would be liable to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and could be barred from running for office.
