The congressional Jan. 6 Committee on Tuesday subpoenaed several new witnesses in its probe of the Capitol attack, including a prominent Republican lawyer who advised Donald Trump during his effort to steal a second term, and a One America News Network anchor who worked on the side for Rudy Giuliani.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said in a statement that the committee was seeking information “about attempts to disrupt or delay the certification of electoral votes and any efforts to corruptly change the outcome of the 2020 election.”
“The six individuals we’ve subpoenaed today all have knowledge related to those matters and will help the Select Committee better understand all the various strategies employed to potentially affect the outcome of the election.”
The subpoena letters demand testimony as well as records from the witnesses.
Cleta Mitchell, the prominent GOP lawyer who advised Trump before and after the election, was among the voices heard during the former president’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early January 2020, in which Trump pressured the state official to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the state.
The committee’s subpoena of Mitchell stated that its investigation “has revealed credible evidence that you publicly promoted claims that the 2020 election was stolen and participated in attempts to disrupt or delay the certification of the election results based on your allegations.”
In addition to participating in Trump’s Raffensperger call, the letter, citing documents on file with the committee, said that Mitchell “participated in efforts to prevent, delay, or overturn the certification of the popular vote results in several states.” It also alleged that she promoted false claims to members of Congress and was in contact with Trump on Jan. 6 and in the days prior.
In its subpoena issued to Christina Bobb, the One America News Network anchor, the committee cited reporting by Politico that Bobb was involved in some way in the drafting of a proposed executive order, never signed by Trump, directing federal agencies to seize voting machines across several states.
In addition to her work at OAN, Bobb, a former Trump administration official, was involved in Rudy Giuliani’s legal efforts on the Trump campaign’s behalf. The committee’s letter noted that Bobb was reportedly in the Willard Hotel “war room” on Jan. 6.
Another subpoena recipient, lobbyist Katherine Friess, was also reportedly involved in the efforts around the draft executive order, the committee’s letter to Friess noted. Friess was involved in other ways as well, her subpoena alleged, including traveling to Antrim County, Michigan — where human error affected the initial vote count, spawning endless election conspiracy theories — in an attempt to inspect voting machines there.
Kenneth Chesebro, who was also subpoenaed, was representing Trump’s campaign as an attorney when he drafted now-infamous memos explaining the campaign’s strategy for assembling “alternate” slates of presidential electors in states won by Joe Biden.
Another subpoenaed attorney, Kurt Olsen, authored a legal document that Trump used to pressure the Department of Justice to pursue an effort to overturn the election.
Olsen also “had multiple telephone calls with former President Trump on January 6, 2021,” the committee’s letter alleged, citing materials it had on file.
The final subpoena recipient, Phillip Kline, is a former attorney from Kansas and director of the Amistad Project, an active participant in post-election lawsuits.
The committee’s subpoena also noted that he helped organize the effort to object to the 2020 election results within state legislatures.
Read the committee’s letter to each subpoena recipient here:
