Following last month’s landmark decision by the House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 to subpoena documents and testimony from former President Donald Trump, a lawsuit has been filed by Trump’s team against the committee.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Florida. In it, Trump is challenging the legitimacy of the committee, which has been upheld by multiple courts. He is also claiming that he should be immune to testimony being that he served as president.
With subpoena deadlines nearing, Trump’s legal team has been in communication with the House for the past week and a half. Trump’s team has offered to answer written questions while expressing “concerns and objections” about the bulk of the document requests from the committee, CNN reported.
“The Subpoena’s request for testimony and documents from President Trump is an unwarranted intrusion upon the institution of the Presidency because there are other sources of the requested information, including the thousand-plus witnesses the Committee has contacted and one million documents that the Committee has collected,” his attorneys argue in the suit, CNN reported. “The Committee also may obtain abundant government records relevant to its inquiry. Because of this obvious availability to obtain testimony and documents from other readily available sources, the Subpoena is invalid.”
Trump has also said that if he met the demands of the committee, it would violate privilege protections around the executive branch.
The suit argues that Trump should not have to share information about his 2020 presidential campaign, “including his political beliefs, strategy, and fundraising. President Trump did not check his constitutional rights at the Oval Office door. Because the Committee’s Subpoena to President Trump infringes upon his First Amendment rights it is invalid.”
The lawsuit and back-and-forth between the two parties will likely result in Trump not testifying before the current Congress expires in January, as it will be tough for the legal battle to resolve itself before then.
A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee has declined to comment on the lawsuit from Trump. However, a letter from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), penned on Nov. 4, the initial deadline from the committee, accused Trump of trying to delay the process.
“Given the timing and nature of your letter – without any acknowledgment that Mr. Trump will ultimately comply with the subpoena – your approach on his behalf appears to be a delay tactic,” Thompson, the committee chair, wrote in the letter.
The committee has not announced what it plans to do in response to the actions from Trump.
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