The bipartisan committee investigating the Capitol insurrection is looking to gather more former Trump administration officials to testify regarding the efforts made by the twice-impeached former president to overturn the elections. The panel recently served a subpoena to another key Trump Justice Department official who was allegedly involved in the efforts to delegitimize the 2020 elections.
The January 6 House Committee served a subpoena to former Trump DOJ assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark Wednesday. In a statement, the panel explained their reasons for ordering Clark to testify before the committee regarding Trump’s desperate efforts to stay in power. The panel cited the findings of the Senate report such as the letter Clark wrote to state legislators encouraging them to delay the certification of election results.
“Moreover, he recommended holding a press conference announcing the Department was investigating allegations of voter fraud despite the lack of evidence that such fraud was present. Both proposals were rejected by the Department’s senior leadership for lacking a factual basis and being consistent with the Department’s institutional role,” the committee said in a statement.
“The subpoena requires Mr. Clark to produce records and testify at a deposition on October 29th, 2021,” the committee said.
Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson explained that Clark was subpoenaed as part of the panel’s look into the Trump administration’s efforts to delay the certification of the 2020 election results and amplify misinformation about the election results. Thompson added that the panel needs to understand Clark’s role in those efforts as well as see who else within the Trump administration was involved.
It remains to be seen whether Clark will comply with the subpoena or not. It should also be noted that the bipartisan committee has already warned potential witnesses to comply with the subpoena or face a criminal referral to the Justice Department. Aside from Clark, members of Trump’s inner circle have also been served with subpoenas and according to CNN reporter Jamie Gangel, the panel might soon serve members of the former president’s family with subpoenas as well.
While discussing the committee’s decision to move forward with referring Steve Bannon for criminal contempt, Gangel explained how the committee is showing that it is pushing through with its threats. When host Wolf Blitzer mentioned that the committee has left the option to subpoena Trump himself open, Gangel said it could go beyond Trump as well as his family members might be ordered to testify.