Jan. 6 committee subpoenas former White House counsel Pat Cipollone
WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection issued a subpoena to former White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Wednesday evening after blockbuster testimony from a former aide identified the lawyer as having firsthand knowledge of potential criminal activity in the Trump White House.
The decision followed extensive negotiations between Mr. Cipollone and the committee, as well as sharply escalating pressure on him in recent days to come forward and testify.
Committee members have come to believe that the former counsel’s testimony could be critical to their investigation, given his proximity to Mr. Trump and presence during key moments before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The subpoena is likely to trigger a lengthy legal battle.
Mr. Cipollone sat for an informal interview with the committee on April 13, according to a letter from the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., but he has declined to cooperate further.
“In the weeks since, the Select Committee has continued to obtain evidence about which you are uniquely positioned to testify; unfortunately, however, you have declined to cooperate with us further, including by providing onthe-record testimony. We are left with no choice but to issue you this subpoena,” wrote Mr. Thompson.
A statement from Mr. Thompson and the committee’s vice chairwoman, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the committee’s investigation had “revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded.”
The subpoena came a day after a whirlwind hearing featuring former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Early Wednesday morning, Ms. Cheney tweeted about the committee’s next major target.
“It’s time for Mr. Cipollone to testify on the record,” Ms. Cheney tweeted at 5:50 a.m. “Any concerns he has about the institutional interests of his prior office are outweighed by the need for his testimony.”
Mr. Cipollone has been mentioned often over the past month as various witnesses who have appeared in the committee’s public hearings have cited his steady presence in off-the-rail meetings and sage, though at times unwelcome, legal advice.
But he has remained invisible to the American public, neither agreeing to sit for taped interviews nor appearing as a live witness at a committee hearing.
The committee is hoping that soon changes. Ms. Cheney, in particularly, has been determined to secure Mr. Cipollone’s cooperation — so far without luck.
But the subpoena may provide cover for Mr. Cipollone to cooperate with the committee, as Mr. Trump and his allies have sought to keep those in the former president’s orbit from providing the committee with potentially damaging information.
Ms. Hutchinson in her testimony portrayed Mr. Cipollone as one of the last firewalls blocking Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
She recounted how, on the morning of Jan. 6, Mr. Cipollone came forward with an urgent request, saying “something to the effect of: ‘Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.‘”
Tuesday’s surprise hearing was designed in part to ramp up pressure on reluctant witnesses such as Mr. Cipollone, according to those involved with the investigation, who, like others quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. One of those people said there has been a behindthe-scenes strategy to get other witnesses to testify — particularly Mr. Cipollone.
“He can probably give the best overview of how [former White House chief of staff Mark] Meadows, [former Trump lawyer Rudy] Giuliani and Trump were told what they were doing might be illegal,” said a person involved with the investigation.
Ms. Cheney has repeatedly told others that securing the lawyer’s appearance would be a big win for the committee.
But two committee advisers said they feared his appearance will never materialize.
“Cassidy told the world that [Cipollone] has firsthand knowledge and therefore evidence of crimes Donald Trump committed,” a person close to the investigation said, speaking before the subpoena was issued. “The committee should subpoena him, hold him in contempt and refer him to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.”
The subpoena of Mr. Cipollone comes after extensive negotiations over his possible cooperation, according to people familiar with the matter.