Got nothing to hide, right Mr. Trump?
He says he doesn’t, so he should follow subpoena: Jan. 6 probers
If former President Donald Trump really has nothing to hide, he should comply with the recently issued subpoena from the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol, a panel member said Sunday.
The comments from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) came after the committee on Thursday took the extraordinary step of subpoenaing the ex-commanderin-chief, saying the future of democracy is at stake as it winds down its probe.
“He has nothing to hide, is what he says,” Kinzinger said of Trump on ABC’s “This Week.” “So he should come in on the day we ask him to come.”
But he voiced uncertainty about what happens if Trump — who sent a defiant letter to the committee on Friday — does not comply.
“If he pushes beyond that, we’ll figure out what to do next,” he said. “Granted that ... this is not an unprecedented move by Congress, but it’s also, we recognize, a big deal. This is a big move.”
Trump’s letter called the work of the committee “a charade and witch hunt,” but he did not directly address the subpoena.
Since the special committee was formed last year, the former president has repeatedly derided it, telling former staffers to defy subpoenas.
While Trump may be unlikely to comply, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said last week that Trump’s testimony would be vital.
“He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6,” Thompson said Thursday.
“He must be accountable,” he added. “He is required to answer for his actions.”
Kinzinger echoed that sentiment on Sunday.
“He’s required by law to come in, and he can ramble and push back all he wants,” the congressman said. “That’s the requirement for congressional subpoena.”
In a series of dramatic public hearings that began in the summer, the committee has detailed Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his refusal to intervene when throngs of his supporters stormed the Capitol building when Congress was convening to certify the results of the 2020 election, won by Joe Biden.
“We’ve been gathering additional information and we’ve gotten new information, even since the July hearing,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said Sunday when asked why the committee didn’t subpoena Trump earlier.
“We have always pursued this investigation, calling in whoever we need to as the information and the facts detail,” she told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And so that’s why you see that we have asked the central figure in the effort to overturn the 2020 election to turn over documents, as well as provide sworn testimony.”
The committee is only authorized to work until the current Congress ends on Jan. 3.
Like Kinzinger, Murphy voiced uncertainty about what happens if Trump defies the subpoena.
“I won’t engage in any hypotheticals at this moment, as the subpoena hasn’t yet even been served,” she said. “But I will say ... that with previous subpoenas, what you’ve seen the committee do is be very deliberate and take the response to our subpoenas on a case-by-case basis.”
Kinzinger, who exits office at the end of this term, said the committee’s work will resonate beyond 2023.
“What happened on Jan. 6 was terrible. What led up to that and what happened since is what I’m more worried about,” he said.
“Democracies are not defined by those bad days, but how we come back from those bad days,” he added. “This is that process. This is laying out before the American people what happened and determining we can never do this again.”