Trump asks former aides to defy January 6 panel subpoenas

“Executive privilege will be upheld, not only on behalf of President Trump and his administration, but also on behalf of the office of the President of the United States and the future of our nation,” he added.

Mr. Trump’s instructions were reported earlier by The Guardian.

The deadline for compliance with the select committee’s first batch of summons came as it released three more on Thursday, targeting organizers of the “Stop the Steal” rally that brought together many supporters of Mr. Trump who then went on to violently stormed the Capitol.

The latest subpoenas call for the deposition testimony of Ali Abdul Akbar, also known as Ali Alexander, and Nathan Martin, both involved in organizing protests across the country – including in Washington on January 6 – based on Mr Trump’s lies that he was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election and had been riddled with fraud. The committee also issued a subpoena for Stop the Steal LLC, an organization affiliated with the event.

“The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy,” Thompson said. “During this day, the demonstrations escalated into violence and the demonstrators became rioters. “

In the weeks leading up to the attack, Mr. Alexander, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist, repeatedly referred during the “Stop the Steal” events to the possible use of violence to achieve goals. organization, and he claimed to have been in communication with the White House and members of Congress regarding events planned to undermine the certification of the 2020 Electoral College results, the committee said.

Mr Alexander said that with Representatives Mo Brooks of Alabama, Paul Gosar of Arizona and Andy Biggs of Arizona, all Republicans, he sparked the events of January 6.

“The four of us planned to put maximum pressure on Congress while they voted,” Alexander said in a deleted video since posted online, “so that those whom we cannot lobby, we can change the hearts and minds of the Republicans who were in this body, hearing our great roar from outside.