The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Capitol insurrection issued a new batch of subpoenas on Tuesday to some of Donald Trump’s closest advisers, including Rudy Giuliani investigated in-depth, as the committee inches closer to the former president.
The committee is continuing to widen its scope into Trump’s orbit, this time demanding information and testimony from Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn. All four publicly defended the president and his baseless voter fraud claims in the months after the 2020 election.
US 2020 Election Update – Live Page
The nine-member panel is also demanding information from Trump legal adviser Ellis, who the lawmakers say reportedly prepared and circulated two memos that analyzed the constitutional authority for then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject or delay counting the electoral votes from states that had submitted alternate slates of electors.
Giuliani took on a leading role
Giuliani took on a leading role in disputing the election results on Trump’s behalf after the 2020 presidential election, even visiting states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, where he claimed ballots “looked suspicious” and Biden’s electoral win was a fraud.
To this day, not a single court has found merit in the core legal claims made by Trump, Giuliani and the other three subpoenaed Tuesday.
Four individuals subpoenaed -Giuliani investigated
“The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with former President Trump about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes,” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democratic chair of the panel, said in a statement.
Capitol insurrection trials
The committee said it is seeking records and deposition testimony from Giuliani in connection to his promotion of election fraud claims on behalf of Trump.
Ellis and Powell appeared with Giuliani at news conferences, pushing false claims of election fraud. The last person subpoenaed Tuesday by the committee, Epshteyn, is a former Trump campaign strategic adviser who reportedly attended meetings at the Willard Hotel in the days leading up to the insurrection.
The investigative panel is also seeking information about Giuliani’s reported efforts to persuade state legislators to take steps to overturn the election results.
………………………………………….