Select committee issues subpoenas to 11 associated with planning of Jan. 6 rally
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack issued 11 subpoenas Wednesday to organizers of the pro-Trump rally outside the White House that turned into a march on the U.S Capitol.
The committee, which recently subpoenaed Trump's closest aides and advisers for records and depositions by mid-October, is seeking documents and testimony as part of its investigation into the insurrection at the Capitol and Trump's actions before, during and after the riot, along with Trump's broader campaign to challenge the election results from inside and outside the federal government.
Trump himself addressed the rally, which was held just south of the White House on the National Mall.
As part of their inquiry, investigators are reviewing ties and communications between Trump White House associates and organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally, which was planned for the day Congress convened to affirm the election results. Thousands of people traveled to D.C. for the event, with many going on to assault police officers and forcibly enter the U.S. Capitol, temporarily disrupting the electoral count.
Conservative activist Amy Kremer, who founded "Women for America First," the group that put together the rally supporting Trump on the day of the electoral vote count, was singled out by the panel in their second tranche of subpoenas, along with her daughter, Kylie.
Caroline Wren and Maggie Mulvaney, who were listed on the event permits with the National Park Service, were also subpoenaed, the committee said. Mulvaney is the niece of former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and worked on Trump's presidential campaign.
"The Select Committee is investigating the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6th attack and issues relating to the peaceful transfer of power, in order to identify and evaluate lessons learned and to recommend to the House and its relevant committees corrective laws, policies, procedures rules, or regulations," Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson wrote in the letter to each subpoena recipient. "The inquiry includes examination of how various individuals and entities coordinated their activities leading up to the events of January 6, 2021."
The panel also subpoenaed Hannah Salem, a GOP operative who was listed on the paperwork and previously served as a senior Trump White House press aide.
Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign adviser and Tea Party activist who served as a campaign spokesperson in 2016 and spoke at the Jan. 6 rally was also subpoenaed by the committee.
"Americans will stand up for themselves and protect their rights, and they will demand that the politicians that we elect will uphold those rights, or we will go after them," Pierson said at the rally.
The others subpoenaed were Cynthia Chafian, who submitted the first permit application for the event, and Justin Caporale, Tim Unes, Megan Powers and Lyndon Brentnall, all of whom were listed on permit paperwork.
The committee said Wednesday it had notified the recipients of the subpoenas within the past 24 hours.
Thompson told reporters last week that the committee could also issue subpoenas to former President Trump's children as part of its investigation. Trump's two eldest sons, Donald Jr., and Eric, spoke at the rally, as did his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and Don Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and Trump campaign adviser.
