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Committee Investigating Capitol Riot Subpoenas Six Close Trump Associates

Committee Investigating Capitol Riot Subpoenas Six Close Trump Associates

On Monday, a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives announced the issuance of six subpoenas against officials from former President Donald Trump's campaign, according to CNN. The committee is investigating the events of the Capitol riot, where Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, preventing Congress from certifying the presidential election results.

The subpoenas are part of the committee's efforts to gather testimonies and documents from witnesses linked to Trump's campaign in his pursuit of a new term, as the committee accuses him of promoting claims of "fraud" in the election following his loss to current President Joe Biden.

The subpoenas include Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, William Stepien; former senior campaign advisor Jason Miller; John Eastman, an attorney who helped formulate Trump’s argument that the election was "stolen"; Michael Flynn, who participated in a meeting regarding how Trump’s campaign wanted to promote results of the election; Angela McCallum, national executive assistant for Trump's reelection campaign; and Bernard Kerik, who was part of a meeting at the Willard Hotel focused on election results.

All six individuals are required to provide the committee with documents by November 23, with a deadline extending to mid-December. Chairman Bennie Thompson stated, "The select committee needs to know all the details about these individuals' efforts to overturn the election results, including who they were communicating with in the White House and Congress, their connections to the rallies that led to the riots, and who financed all of that."

Thompson added, "The select committee expects all witnesses to cooperate with our investigation as we seek answers for the American people and recommend changes to our laws that would enhance our democracy and help ensure that nothing like January 6 ever happens again."

This marks the first round of subpoenas issued by the committee since the House had requested the Justice Department to pursue criminal contempt charges against Trump's ally Steve Bannon for defying a congressional order to appear and testify.

Attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, as well as close Trump ally Steve Bannon, met at the Willard InterContinental Hotel, very close to the White House, before and after the attack on the Capitol by thousands of Trump supporters. They are suspected of securing the connection between the White House and groups that participated in the large demonstration that bore the slogan "Stop the Steal," according to the committee that wants to prosecute Bannon for refusing to testify.

The 67-year-old former advisor's explanations are deemed crucial for understanding what former President Trump was doing on the day of the attack. Lawmakers suspect that Bannon played a role "in the outreach to the 'Stop the Steal' campaign that incited the attack" on the Capitol, and that he "participated in incidents that day" from the crisis team at the Willard Hotel, as reported by the U.S. network.

CNN previously reported that Eastman wrote an email blaming then-Vice President Mike Pence for causing the violence at the Capitol by refusing to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results while the riots occurred. The committee is interested in learning more about Eastman's role in attempting to overturn the election results.

Angela McCallum is believed by the committee to have knowledge of the campaign's efforts to disseminate false information about voter fraud in the presidential election due to her role as national executive assistant for Trump's reelection campaign. Michael Flynn, who served as Trump's first national security advisor and remained a strong ally since his dismissal in 2017, reportedly attended a December 2020 Oval Office meeting where participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, and continuing to spread the false narrative that "the November 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud."

In the subpoena to Miller, the committee suggests that the former senior advisor utilized his position within the Trump campaign to spread lies about election fraud, as well as attending a meeting on January 5 at the Willard Hotel.

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