The House January 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena former president Donald Trump for testimony, during the panel’s final hearing before the midterm elections.
“He is required to answer,” chairman Bennie Thompson said of the former president, adding that subpoeaning a former president is a “serious and extraordinary action”.
At the start of the hearing, members of the January 6 committee made their strongest indication yet pointing towards the likelihood of sending a criminal referral to the Justice Department urging the agency to prosecute Mr Trump for specific crimes at the outset of their meeting Thursday.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, noted that the agenda of Thursday’s meeting left open the opportunity for lawmakers to take votes on actions responding to the testimony that their panel had uncovered thus far.
“There's one more difference about today. Pursuant to the notice circulated prior to today's proceedings, we are convened today, not as a hearing, but as a formal committee business meeting. So that in addition to presenting evidence, we can potentially hold a committee vote on further investigative action based upon that evidence,” said Mr Thompson.
Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the Republican vice chair of the panel, echoed those indications in her opening statement.
"Our nation cannot only punish the foot soldiers who stormed our capitol. Those who planned to overturn the election and brought us to the point of violence must also be accountable,” she said, adding: “Our committee may ultimately decide to make a series of criminal referrals to the Department of Justice”, while noting that it was ultimately the DoJ’s role to make that decision.
The committee’s leadership has discussed making such a referral for months, and will likely ultimately play little role in whether the Department of Justice decides to prosecutive Donald Trump.
The agency has been pursuing its own investigation into January 6 since the attack itself, which has led to the conviction of hundreds of participants in the riot at the Capitol itself while at the same time in more recent months turning an eye towards the White House.
Multiple witnesses have submitted testimony to both the House panel and the DoJ regarding January 6, including former vice presidential chief of staff Marc Short, a top aide and ally of Mike Pence.
Ms Cheney further warned during her opening statement that a failure to hold Donald Trump accountable for the attack of the Capitol would leave the door wide open for another president to try the same scheme in the future, strengthened by the knowledge gained from watching Mr Trump’s failure.
“Those who planned to overturn our election and brought us to the point of violence must also be accountable. With every effort to excuse or justify the conduct of the former president, we chip away at the foundation of our republic,” said Ms Cheney.
“Indefensible conduct is defended, inexcusable conduct is excused. Without accountability. It all becomes normal, and it will recur. So as we watch the evidence today, please consider where our nation is in its history. Consider whether we can survive for another 246 years.
“Most people in most places on earth have not been free. America is an exception. And America continues only because we bind ourselves to our founders principles to our constitution,” she continued.
