Jamie Raskin threatens Trump allies with sanctions if they fail to comply with 1/6 subpoenas

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, threatened to impose sanctions and fines on allies of former President Donald Trump if they refused to comply with subpoenas in the select committee investigation of the House on the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.

The House select committee sent 11 subpoenas last week, largely to people who helped organize the Stop the Steal rally at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC just before the assault of January 6 against the Capitol. Trump spoke at the event and urged his supporters to “walk” to Capitol Hill and “fight like hell.” This is exactly what hundreds of Trump supporters have done.

“If you get any of these subpoenas, it’s not an optional thing,” Raskin said of the committee’s subpoenas in a Saturday morning interview with MSNBC. The Democratic lawmaker explained that they are “legally binding” and that Congress “can compel your cooperation through criminal contempt or civil contempt or what are called the powers of Congress where we can call people before the Congress and fine them and use our own sanctions … “

Raskin pointed out that this “has not been done for a long time.” However, he added: “I don’t think anyone should test our patience at this point.”

“It’s just not discretionary or optional. If the government subpoena documents or testimony from you: you have to testify,” said the Democratic congressman.

The Jan. 6 House select committee includes seven Democratic members and two Republicans, Representatives Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois. House GOP leaders refused to participate in the select committee. Kinzinger and Cheney were both selected by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because they voted to impeach Trump following the Jan.6 attack and continued to verbally condemn the former president.

The pro-Trump insurgency against Capitol Hill was largely spurred by the former president’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen” in favor of President Joe Biden. Although Trump and his allies continue to promote this conspiracy theory, they have not provided any evidence to support this extraordinary claim.

On January 6, the Senate and House of Representatives met to formally certify the results of the 2020 election. Trump supporters attacked the Capitol during this process with the apparent aim of blocking official certification of electoral victory. by Biden. During the violence, Trump suggested he endorsed the attackers in a series of tweets before later posting a video message urging them to return home.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, supported by 10 House Republicans, voted to impeach Trump following the assault on Capitol Hill. A large majority of senators, including seven Republicans, then voted to condemn Trump for inciting violence that day. Despite being the most bipartisan presidential impeachment vote in history, it has yet to meet the high constitutional threshold of a two-thirds majority required for a successful “guilty” verdict.

News week contacted Trump’s press office for comment, but did not receive a response until the time of publication.