Jan. 6 panel subpoenas EX-DOJ lawyer who was a Trump ally

WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol issued a subpoena Wednesday to a former Justice Department lawyer who positioned himself as an ally of President Donald Trump and aided Trump’s efforts to challenge results of the 2020 presidential election.

The committee said it has demanded documents and testimony from Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant attorney general who lent a sympathetic ear to the president’s claims the election results were fraudulent. The subpoena comes one week after the release of a Senate Judiciary Committee report that documented tensions within senior ranks of the Justice Department in December and January as Trump and his allies prodded the law enforcement agency to aid efforts to undo the election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, at least three of the officials involved in organizing and running the rally that preceded the violent storming of the Capitol are handing over documents in response to subpoenas. The 11 organizers and staffers were given a Wednesday deadline to turn over documents and records as part of the committee’s investigation. The organizers have also been asked to appear at separate depositions the committee has scheduled beginning later this month.

Other subpoenas have also been served to top White House officials and Trump advisers, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and adviser Steve Bannon, who has thus far refused to cooperate, putting him at risk of being charged with contempt.

Among those responding to the Wednesday deadline were Lyndon Brentnall, whose firm was hired to provide event security that day. Two longtime Trump campaign and White House staffers, Megan Powers and Hannah Salem, listed on the Jan. 6 rally permit as “operations manager for scheduling and guidance” and “operations manager for logistics and communications,” have also provided documents or plan to do so.

The committee has said two top Trump officials — Meadows and former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel — are “engaging” with the committee, though it is unclear exactly what that entails.