Former President Donald Trump raged on Truth Social over the subpoena issued by the House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday.
Trump responded to the committee's subpoena with a barrage of so-called "truths" and issued a 14-page letter laying out his criticisms of the committee, pushing repeatedly debunked lies about his 2020 election loss. The letter falsely claimed that a majority of American citizens as well as "the entire Republican party" felt that "the Election was Rigged and Stolen."
"This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself," Trump wrote.
Despite publicly claiming that he won, Trump privately admitted he lost the election, according to former White House officials who testified to the panel. Still, he continued to forge a campaign to overturn the election.
New testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, the former top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, revealed anecdotes of Trump acknowledging he had lost the election.
"He had said something to the effect of, 'I don't want people to know we lost, Mark, this is embarrassing, figure it out, we need to figure it out, I don't want people to know that we lost,'" Hutchinson said.
Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah also recalled a moment when the former president accepted his loss.
"I popped into the Oval just to give the president the headlines and see how he was doing. And he was looking at the TV and he said, 'Can you believe I lost to this f***ing guy,'" she said.
Trump did not mention the threats and violence that unfolded at the Capitol in the letter but continued to call the investigation a "Witch Hunt of the highest level", adding that the committee has "not gone after the people that created the Fraud, but rather great American Patriots who questioned it, as is their Constitutional right. These people have had their lives ruined as your Committee sits back and basks in the glow."
He also blamed D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for not deploying troops, claiming to have " fully authorized" this request before Jan. 6.
"Had even a small percentage of National Guard or fencing been there, there would have been no problem, January 6th would have been just another date," Trump wrote.
New footage from the hearing revealed Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., negotiating with governors and defense officials trying to get the National Guard to the Capitol while sheltering two miles from the Capitol on the day of the attack.
"There has to be some way," Pelosi told colleagues. "We can maintain the sense that people have that there is some security or some confidence that government can function and that you can elect the president of the United States."
Take 7 minutes to watch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others respond to the Capitol insurrection in previously unseen footage. pic.twitter.com/qFDdLSuMmM
— The Recount (@therecount) October 13, 2022
But the deployment of the guard was delayed for hours while Trump stood by doing little to stop the violence his supporters carried out at the Capitol, former officials said.
On Truth Social, Trump continued to make false claims about telling Pelosi to call out the troops before Jan. 6.
"Why didn't Crazy Nancy Pelosi call out the 'troops' before January 6th, which I strongly recommended that she do. It was her responsibility, but she 'didn't like the look.' Crazy Nancy failed the American People!"
Trump also shared a barrage of links on his feed.
"Trump is losing it on Truth Social. All of these were posted in the last hour," reporter Aaron Rupar tweeted along with a video showing Trump's posts.
Trump is losing it on Truth Social. All of these were posted in the last hour. pic.twitter.com/NyQZmIpkvc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 13, 2022
Prior to the insurrection, the Secret Service became aware of expected violence and online threats made against then-Vice President Mike Pence. One threat included that Pence would be "a dead man walking if he doesn't do the right thing," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said.
He added that on Dec. 26, the FBI received a tip from a source about right-wing extremist group Proud Boys planning to march into D.C. with weapons.
"The committee has shown evidence that President Trump was aware of the risk of violence," Schiff said.
Previous hearings have also addressed that a crowd of rioters on Jan. 6 was heavily armed and wouldn't enter into the Ellipse because they would have to go through magnetometers, which Trump was aware of.
His communication adviser, Jason Miller, also boasted to Meadows about getting "the base FIRED UP," days before the attack, according to a new text message presented by the committee.
In the message Miller sent to Meadows on Dec. 30, 2020, he appeared to take credit for amplifying violent rhetoric online and shared a link to a pro-Trump webpage that included threatening comments about killing lawmakers, with one saying: "Our 'lawmakers' in Congress can leave one of two ways: 1. in a body bag 2. After rightfully certifying Trump the winner."
Yet Trump did not acknowledge any of the threats made against lawmakers and continued to make false claims of "massive voter fraud" the center of his social media meltdown.
"The Unselect Committee knowingly failed to examine the massive voter fraud which took place during the 2020 Presidential Election - The reason for what took place on January 6th," he wrote.
While Trump did not mention anything about the subpoena in the letter he sent out, he questioned why the committee waited until the last hearing to ask him to testify.
"Why didn't the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?" he wrote. "Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total 'BUST' that has only served to further divide our Country which, by the way, is doing very badly - A laughing stock all over the World?"
Despite an onslaught of posts, Trump has not said whether he will comply with the subpoena. He has privately told aides that he would comply with a subpoena to testify before the Jan. 6 committee — but only if it is broadcast live, according to Maggie Haberman of The New York Times.
