The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol has yet to formally subpoena former President Donald Trump, partially because they cannot determine which of his many lawyers can accept such an order on his behalf.
According to a report from ABC News, multiple lawyers for Trump who are working on various legal matters for him have told the January 6 committee that they are not authorized to accept a subpoena order relating to their investigation.
Once the committee learns who is authorized to accept the subpoena, it’s expected to send the order to Trump as soon as possible, sources familiar with the matter say. Only one other matter of business is delaying the sending of the subpoena: the deadline for the former president to respond.
Part of the difficulty in identifying the proper lawyer is that Trump has had a hard time hiring and retaining legal counsel as of late. According to some media reports, his problems stem from his not paying lawyers in the past.
In weeks following the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump struggled to find lawyers for that reason, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said.
“You are seeing many fewer lawyers who are willing to go out and speak for him and/or hitch their wagon [to him] and maybe not get paid — which is a big thing,” she said during an appearance on CNN.
In what was possibly the final public hearing the committee will hold, the panel’s members unanimously agreed to subpoena Trump for records relating to the Capitol attack and to have him give an in-person deposition. After that vote occurred, Trump began telling confidants that he would agree to give testimony only if it was on live television.
A live appearance would require “a negotiation” between himself and the committee, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) has said.
According to an Economist/YouGov poll published this week, a plurality of voters, 46 percent, say they approve of the decision by the committee to subpoena Trump. 30 percent said they didn’t approve of it.
A majority of voters, meanwhile, say that Trump should testify before Congress regarding the January 6 attacks, with 53 percent agreeing and only 29 percent disagreeing.
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