Two members of the House Jan. 6 committee said Sunday that the panel has not yet determined next steps if former President Donald Trump refuses to comply with the subpoena issued during his last public hearing.
The committee’s ninth hearing on Thursday, its last hearing before the midterms, concluded with the panel’s unanimous vote to subpoena Trump.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., was asked if the committee would push for the House to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department if the former president refuses to comply. with your citation.
“I will not get involved in any hypotheses at this time, as the subpoena has not yet been served. But I will say that with the previous subpoenas, what you’ve seen the committee do is be very deliberate and take the response to our subpoenas on a case-by-case basis,” Murphy said. “And I imagine we will do that as well, because we understand the seriousness of the accusation from our committee.”
A source familiar with the committee’s plans told NBC News Thursday that the panel plans to issue the subpoena, which expires at the end of Congress’ current term, in the next few days.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, made similar comments during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday when asked if the Justice Department should hold Trump in criminal contempt if he refuses to comply with the subpoena.
“Look, that’s a bridge we’re going to cross if we have to get there,” Kinzinger said. “You know, look, we well recognize the fact that because the committee can only exist until the end of this year of Congress, because that was the mandate, we’re on a time limit here.”
Kinzinger said that as the committee wraps up its investigation, it is also looking for “new leads and facts” and looks forward to speaking with Trump. He also said that he believes there will be “a negotiation” with the former president because of his live testimony.
“If it goes beyond that, we’ll figure out what to do next,” Kinzinger said. “Okay, you know, this is not an unprecedented move by Congress, but it’s also, we recognize, a big deal. This is a great move.”
He added: “I will only address that when we know for sure if the president has tried to push to come in and talk to us live.”
Trump responded to the committee’s subpoena on Friday in a 14-page letter expressing his “anger, disappointment and complaint” at the panel for not investigating his baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election. Although the former president did not indicate whether would comply with the panel’s subpoena to testify, he is expected to contest it.
Asked after last week’s hearing if the committee is prepared to fight a subpoena in court, the chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said, “Let’s see what happens,” adding about Trump: “We expect him to deliver. .”
“This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be responsible. He is bound to answer for his acts. He is obliged to answer to those police officers who risk their lives and their bodies to defend our democracy. He must answer to those millions of Americans whose votes he wanted to discard as part of his scheme to stay in power,” Thompson said, acknowledging the move as a “serious and extraordinary action.”
