In historic move, House Jan. 6 committee votes to subpoena Trump

The House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday, after a months-long hiatus, held its ninth public hearing since June, and possibly its last in its investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack.

The panel focused on the role of former President Donald Trump, alleging he was front and center of a plot to overturn the 2020 election and in a historic development, voted unanimously to subpoena Trump to testify.

Latest Developments

Oct 14, 11:18 AM

Trump writes to committee after subpoena vote

Donald Trump wrote a memo to committee chair Bennie Thompson following the panel's hearing on Thursday, during which members unanimously voted to subpoena the former president.

Trump reiterated his false claims of election fraud as he railed against the committee's work, but didn't address the vote to subpoena him and whether he would comply. (The subpoena has yet to be issued.)

"This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself," he wrote.

Oct 13, 5:35 PM

Trump responds to Jan. 6 subpoena vote

Former President Donald Trump responded to the committee's action for the first time on Thursday afternoon in a post to Truth Social, his conservative social media platform.

"Why didn't the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?" he wrote, calling the committee a "total BUST."

"Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting?" he asked again.

Oct 13, 4:41 PM

Thompson: Panel will not issue subpoena for Pence testimony

House Jan. 6 committee chair BennieThompson told reporters right after the hearing that the panel would not issue a subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence.

The committee had been debating how to manifest a meeting with the former vice president, but Thompson's comments indicate members will not force him to make an appearance.

When asked if he thinks Trump will honor the subpoena for his testimony, Thompson responded "ask Donald Trump." Thompson did not answer when asked if the committee would vote to hold Trump in contempt of Congress if he chooses not to comply.

-- ABC News' Katherine Faulders

Oct 13, 5:06 PM

In historic, unanimous vote, Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Trump

To close out their 10th hearing overall -- the ninth since June -- the House Jan. 6 committee unanimously voted to subpoena Trump.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., offered the historic resolution and requested a voice vote. Each of the nine members, including seven Democrats and two Republicans, voted yes.

"It is our obligation to seek Donald Trump's testimony," chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said about the subpoena.

Oct 13, 5:33 PM

Cheney cites need for Trump subpoena

Cheney said a subpoena for Trump is necessary since several witnesses pleaded their Fifth Amendment right when pressed about their conversations with the former president surrounding the 2020 election and the insurrection.

"Mr. Chairman, 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 January 6. But a key task remains. We must seek the testimony, under oath, of January 6's central plater," she said.

"More than 30 witnesses in our investigation have invoked their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, and several of those did so specifically in response to questions about their dealings with Donald Trump directly."

Cheney conceded that the Justice Department could reveal more information but indicated that time is of the essence.

"Mr. Chairman, at some point, the Department of Justice may well unearth the fact that these and other witnesses are concealing. But our duty today is to our country and our children and our Constitution. We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion, and every American is entitled to those answers so we can act now to protect our republic," she said.

Oct 13, 3:44 PM

Thompson on subpoenaing Trump: 'We want to hear from him'

Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee needs to hear from the person they say is at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6: Trump.

“We want to hear from him,” Thompson said. “The committee needs to do everything in our power to tell the most complete story possible and provide recommendations to help ensure nothing like Jan. 6 ever happens again.”

Thompson said speaking with Trump goes beyond the committee’s “fact-finding” and is a question about accountability to the American people.

“He is required to answer for his actions,” he said.

Thompson said the committee recognizes subpoenaing a former president is an extraordinary step, which is why the panel will "take this step in full view of the American people."

Oct 13, 3:30 PM

Secret Service worried for Pence after Trump tweet

The committee presented evidence the Secret Service voiced worry for Pence after Trump bashed him in a tweet for not blocking certification of the Electoral College results.

"POTUS just tweeted about Pence, probably not going to be good for Pence," one agent said in a chat with a colleague released by the committee Thursday.

"POTUS said he lacked courage. Over 24K likes in under 2mins," the colleague responded.

Former Twitter employee Anika Collier Navaroli, in testimony featured Thursday, said that rioters "were literally calling for [Pence's] execution," partially "in response to this tweet."

Oct 13, 4:04 PM

As the insurrection is ongoing, Pelosi speaks to Pence in new footage

The committee played new footage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to former Vice President Mike Pence as Trump supporters were in the middle of storming the Capitol. The contents of that footage is below, as the two discussed how they would ultimately certify the 2020 election results.

At 4:22 p.m. Pelosi was videotaped saying:

"We're trying to figure out how we can get this job done today. We talked to Mitch [McConnell] about it earlier. He's not in the room right now but he was with us earlier and said, "Yeah, we want to expedite this." And hopefully they could confine it to just one complaint, Arizona. And then we could vote and that would be you know, then just move forward with the rest of the states.

"The overriding wish is to do it at the Capitol," said Pelosi, as the committee displayed a photo of Pence presumably on the phone with her while watching news footage on a separate cellphone.

"What we are being told very directly is it's gonna take days for the Capitol to be OK again. We've gotten a very bad report about the condition of the House floor. Defecation and all that kind of thing as well. I don't think that that's hard to clean up. But I do think it is more from a security standpoint of making sure everybody is out of the building and how long will that take?"

At 4:30 p.m. Pelosi said:

"I just got off the phone with the Vice President and I got off with the Vice President-elect," Pelosi said after her call with Pence and supposedly Kamala Harris.

"So I'll tell you what she said, yeah. But what we left the conversation with cause he said, he had the impression from Mitch [McConnell] that Mitch wants to get everybody back to do it there," Pelosi said.

Oct 13, 3:37 PM

Videos shows Nancy Pelosi reacting to the Capitol attack

In never-before seen footage, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seen reacting to the events of Jan. 6 in real time. Pelosi spoke to or called various officials, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and then-acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen.

"We've got ... to finish the proceedings or else they will have a complete victory," Pelosi is heard saying as she is leaving the Capitol complex while rioters gather outside.

Later, Pelosi was informed that lawmakers still on the floor were putting on tear gas masks in anticipation of a breach.

"Can you believe this?" Pelosi responded.

Oct 13, 3:03 PM

Committee reviewing 'potential obstruction' regarding alleged SUV altercation

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., reiterated testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson about an alleged altercation between Trump and his security detail in the presidential SUV on Jan. 6.

Hutchinson said she was told by Tony Ornato, a senior Secret Service official who was at the time White House deputy chief of staff for operations, that Trump was so angry he couldn't join supporters at the Capitol after his speech at the Ellipse that he tried to grab the steering wheel and lunged at agent Bobby Engel, who was driving the vehicle.

Aguilar said the altercation was "so widely known" that one former White House employee with national security responsibilities explained the information was "water cooler talk" around the White House complex.

"That professional also testified that they were specifically informed of the president's irate behavior in the SUV by Mr. Ornato in Mr. Ornato's office," Aguilar said.

Aguilar said the committee is reviewing testimony about "potential obstruction" surrounding this testimony about the alleged SUV incident.

"We will address this matter in our report," Aguilar said.

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