House Jan. 6 Committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) said on Tuesday that the committee is “in discussions” with ex-President Donald Trump’s lawyers about their client testifying in response to the panel’s subpoena.
“We haven’t made determinations about the format itself but it will be done under oath, it will be done potentially over multiple days,” Cheney said during an event at Cleveland State University. “We have significant questions based on the evidence that we’ve developed and what we know already about the extent to which he was personally and directly involved in every aspect of the effort.”
The Wyoming Republican declared that the committee would not “put itself at the mercy of Donald Trump in terms of his efforts to create a circus,” echoing the comment she made last week when asked about Trump reportedly wanting to testify only if he could do it live.
However, Cheney acknowledged the likelihood of Trump flouting the committee’s subpoena, saying that the ex-president has a “legal obligation” to testify, “but that doesn’t always carry weight with Donald Trump.”
Trump is notorious for dragging out legal proceedings to run out the clock, and he won’t have to worry about the subpoena if Republicans take control of the House after the midterm elections.
The subpoena requires Trump to testify by Nov. 14 and to turn over documents this Friday.
