Jan. 6 Committee withdraws Trump subpoena as it prepares to disband

January 6 committee members display photo of Donald Trump
(Image credit: Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

In one of its final acts as it prepares to disband in the face of an incoming House Republican majority, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has formally withdrawn its subpoena of former President Donald Trump. The committee wrote that "in light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena," according to CBS News.

The withdrawal comes just two and a half months after the committee voted unanimously to subpoena the former president, with committee co-chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) explaining that "we must seek the testimony under oath of Jan. 6th's central player."

"I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena," committee co-chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Trump's legal team in a letter Wednesday evening.

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On his Truth Social platform, Trump crowed over the withdrawal, writing on Wednesday evening that "they probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court. Perhaps the FBI's involvement in RIGGING the Election played into their decision."

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109594266191175004

(Image credit: Screenshot / Truth Social @RealDonaldTrump)

"In any event," Trump concluded, "the Subpoena is DEAD!"

Despite the withdrawal of their subpoena, the committee — in one of its other final acts as an official body — voted unanimously to refer Trump for criminal charges to the Justice Department, which has already named a special counsel to oversee all its Trump-related investigations.

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.