The House of Representatives committee that investigated Wednesday’s January 6 attack on the Capitol withdrew the subpoena it had issued to former President Donald J. Trump, admitting that lawmakers no longer had time to review his documents or obtain testimony.
The committee will be dissolved on January 3. She waited until October to issue a subpoena to Mr. Trump, who promptly sued the panel to try and block it.
The panel had instructed Mr Trump to compile a comprehensive list of documents and communications — including phone calls, text messages, encrypted messages and emails — covering nearly every aspect of his bid to win the 2020 election between November 3, 2020. and declare January invalid. But Mr. Trump’s trial made it highly unlikely that he would ever testify given the commission’s due date.
On Wednesday, Representative Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and the committee chair, made it official, writing to Trump’s legal team informing them that he was withdrawing the panel’s subpoena.
“As you may be aware, the Select Committee has completed its hearings, released its final report and will be reaching its close very soon,” Mr Thompson wrote. “In light of the approaching end of our investigation, the select committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena.”
Harmeet K. Dhillon, one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys, celebrated the development on Twitter.
“After my company filed a separation of powers lawsuit to block the House Select Committee’s January 6 illegal subpoena against President Trump for his activities while president – the committee waved the white flag and withdrew the subpoena” , she wrote.
A spokeswoman for the commission declined to comment.
Mr. Thompson is sending similar letters to other witnesses as the panel completes its work.
An almost identical letter was sent to Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, whom the panel had attempted to question. Mr. Mastriano had been a central figure in Mr. Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 Pennsylvania election.
“I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to Mr. Mastriano and inform you that he is no longer obligated to comply with the subpoena or provide any record of it,” Mr. Thompson wrote to the attorney for the Mr. Mastriano.
