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Trump Says He’s Eager to Appear Before Jan. 6 Committee After Panel Issues Him Subpoena

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Former President Donald Trump has responded after the House January 6 Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to issue him a subpoena to appear before the panel for questioning under oath.

According to a source close to Trump, the former president said he “loves the idea of testifying” before the committee, Fox News reported late Thursday afternoon. The source added that Trump wants to highlight “how Nancy Pelosi did not call up the National Guard” to protect the Capitol before his rally that day, as well as other issues.

The source also said that if Trump complied with the subpoena, he would also “talk about how corrupt the election was, how corrupt the committee was, and how Nancy Pelosi did not call up the National Guard that Trump strongly recommended for her to do three days earlier on January 3, 2021.” In addition, the source said that it wasn’t clear if Trump will, in fact, comply, but that he “loves the idea” of talking to the panel.

After the subpoena was issued, Trump spoke exclusively to Fox News, calling the entire investigation by the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans who voted to impeach him a sham.

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“The committee is a hoax, a sham, a partisan witch hunt which is a continuation of the witch hunt that has gone on since the great day for our country that I came down the golden escalator with our future first lady,” Trump said, without indicating whether he would agree to testify. “They have no case, they have no ratings, so they have to try to do this to get publicity.”

He added that the entire probe has been “a partisan witch hunt, together with two Republicans that have been thrown out of the party — one not wanting to run because he couldn’t win; and another losing by a record number of more than 40 points,” he said, referring to Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming, respectively.

Trump also told Fox News that the committee’s investigation “never covered the important subject of election fraud, or why Pelosi and the mayor of D.C. did not call up the National Guard — which I strongly recommended.”

“They didn’t cover the reason for January 6 — the largest crowd — it wasn’t set up by me,” Trump said, going on to complain about a lack of curiosity by the committee regarding the last election and Pelosi’s failure to call for National Guard assistance.

The former president said he advised Pelosi, as well as the mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, to request National Guard assistance because he “felt the crowd was going to be far bigger than anyone understood.”

“They didn’t do their job. I believed the crowd was going to be bigger — just my instinct — and they had the chance to call up the National Guard three days before Jan. 6, and if they did, Jan. 6 would have been a very different day,” Trump said. “But they didn’t do it. They were derelict in their duty. I gave them the authorization and the recommendation to call up the National Guard.”

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Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich tweeted following the committee’s subpoena vote on Thursday that, just 26 days before the midterm elections, “instead of using their final days in power to make life for Americans any better, Democrats are doubling and tripling down on their partisan theatrics. Democrats have no solutions and they have no interest in leading our great nation.”

“They are simply bitter, power-hungry & desperate,” Budowich added. “Pres Trump will not be intimidated by their meritless rhetoric or un-American actions. Trump-endorsed candidates will sweep the Midterms, and America First leadership & solutions will be restored. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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In response to the vote, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said: “This is a question about accountability to the American people. He’s required to answer to those millions of Americans whose votes he tried to throw out as part of his scheme to remain in power.”

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