Donald Trump Will Not Be Testifying Before Jan. 6 Committee Anytime Soon

On Thursday, the January 6th Committee unanimously voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify about the events of the U.S. Capitol riot and the contesting of the 2020 election. Trump joins five Republican members of Congress and numerous aides and staffers in receiving a subpoena.

The committee voted unanimously to subpoena the former president, with chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi arguing Trump was the person most responsible for the riot. Haley Talbot and Ali Vitali of NBC first reported the committee would vote to subpoena Trump. He joins five Republican members of Congress and several aides and advisors in receiving a summons.

“We have left no doubt, none, that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of Jan. 6. He tried to take away the voice of the American people in choosing their president, and place the will of the voters with his will to remain in power. He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6. We want to hear from him,” Thompson said.

[…]“Our committee now has sufficient information to answer many of the critical questions posed by Congress at the outset. We have sufficient information to consider criminal referrals for multiple individuals, and to recommend a range of legislative proposals to guard against another Jan. 6. But a key task remains. We must seek the testimony, under oath, of Jan. 6’s central player,” vice chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming said.

This committee can issue all of the subpoenas they want but it is highly unlikely Trump will ever testify. The Republicans are expected to win the House of Representatives in November. If Republicans do win, they have promised to disband the committee.

In the meantime, Trump will fight the subpoena in court. The case will likely not be resolved before the current Congress ends in January. That means the subpoena will likely be withdrawn next year.

Don’t expect Trump on Capitol Hill anytime soon, if ever.