Former president Donald Trump has reversed course just days before his scheduled appearance before the January 6 committee.
The 41-page suit which was filed in a federal court Friday, is filed ahead of Trump's testimony before the committee, in which Trump was expected to be able to give testimony and deliver documents regarding the 2020 presidential election.
Here's more information, via The New York Times:
“It seeks to invalidate the subpoena for a range of reasons, among them that it is too expansive and ineffective. Trump's lawyers argue that the subpoena has no legislative reason and violates executive privilege as well as its First Amendment rights.”
“The broad scope of the subpoena's request for documents and testimony threatens to force President Trump to reveal the inner workings of his presidential campaign, including his political beliefs, strategy, and fundraising,” said the attorney representing Trump, Matthew Seth Sarelson.
The lawsuit makes it extremely unlikely that Mr. Trump will testify before the panel, considering the fact that the committee is set to disband at the close of the Congress at the end of January. With Republicans in the process of forming a coalition to gain control of the House, it is almost certain that they will not be able to continue the investigation. However, the lawsuit could be a test of the constitutionality of the possibility that Congress is able to compel testimony from the former president.
The committee summoned Trump in October after the end of their public hearings.
The Democratic-led lawmakers who compose this January committee seek to obtain documents that pertain to a range of topics relating to the Capitol Hill protests on the 6th of January, 2021. This includes “material on the former president's bid to create false slates of pro-Trump electors in states he lost, his connections to the militia groups that attended the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, any attempts to delay or disrupt the electoral count by Congress on that day, and his interactions with members of Congress,” according to the Times.
All Congressional subpoenas expire after the expiration of a Congressional term.
