- Former President Donald Trump discussed the Jan. 6 commission’s subpoenas with aides, according to the report.
- He said he might do it if it could be broadcast live on TV.
- Trump will likely try to turn the subpoena into a propaganda victory.
Former President Donald Trump told aides he may comply with a subpoena to testify before the committee on Jan. 6. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reported.
Haberman said Trump told his aide he wasn’t opposed to the idea of testifying before the committee, so long as it was on his terms.
The information was contributed by Haberman during the Times’ live coverage of Thursday’s committee hearings.
Some of his aides seem unenthusiastic about the idea.
“He shouldn’t,” a Trump adviser told the Daily Beast.
Most witnesses are testifying behind closed doors, and the commission presents pre-arranged clips to play at live hearings.
Those who gave particularly notable testimony, including former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, first gave evidence behind closed doors before testifying live.
If Trump testifies, he must testify under oath and risks perjury if he lies.
In a series of live hearings in recent months, the commission claimed Trump was at the center of a plan to overturn his 2020 election loss.
This culminated in turmoil when his supporters rioted on 6 January. The United States Capitol is trying to block the recognition of Joe Biden as president.
“He needs to answer for his actions,” Rep. Benny Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the committee, said when he unveiled the subpoena at a hearing on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly characterized the commission as a partisan witch hunt, but has continued to praise the rioters and push the election fraud conspiracy theories that inspired them.
In Thursday’s Truth Social Post, he said the commission was “a huge scam presided over by a group of losers on the Radical Left and two failed Republicans.”
Republican leadership turned down the opportunity to select party members to participate.
Some analysts predict Trump This process could take several months as we have to challenge the subpoena in court.
The commission’s authority to seek legal penalties if the former president refuses to comply is unclear. If Republicans regain control of the House in the November midterm elections, they will almost certainly void the committee and cancel its subpoenas.
Mr Trump is under legal pressure. There have been multiple investigations into his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, the New York Attorney General is investigating his business practices in the state, and the FBI’s decision to keep government records after his resignation. are investigating.