WASHINGTON — The House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol on Tuesday subpoenaed half a dozen lawyers and other allies of former President Donald Trump who promoted false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and worked to disprove his defeat.
Those who were sent subpoenas for documents and testimonies were involved in a number of attempts to annul Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, including filing lawsuits, pressuring local election officials to change the results, and drafting proposed decrees to seize voting machines.
“The Selection Committee is seeking information about attempts to disrupt or delay the confirmation of electoral votes and any attempt to corrupt the results of the 2020 election,” Representative Benny Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, said in a statement. . “All six people we have called to court today have knowledge related to these issues and will help the selection committee better understand all the different strategies used to potentially influence the outcome of the election.”
More than 550 witnesses testified before a committee tasked with writing an authoritative account of a year-old violence that left more than 150 police officers injured and several dead.
The committee also intends to make recommendations to prevent such an episode from happening again, and is considering forwarding a criminal case if its investigators find any crimes that the Justice Department has not yet charged.
Summons, issued Tuesday, order the witnesses to appear for questioning in March.
Among those summoned was Kleta Mitchell, an attorney who the commission said “spread false allegations to members of Congress about electoral fraud” and was involved in a phone call in which Mr. Trump tried to pressure the Georgian Secretary of State to “find enough votes to make up for his loss there.”
Ms. Mitchell also contacted Mr. Trump on Jan. 6 and a few days before, the committee said it had learned of it.
Kenneth Chesebro, another lawyer called to court on Tuesday, promoted legal theories as part of the Trump campaign supporting the use of fake electoral rolls in states the former president lost. Mr. Chesebro told the Trump campaign that his efforts would “reinforce” the case for delaying the confirmation of the election results and lead the public to believe that the election “probably was rigged and stolen by Biden and Harris, who were not legitimately elected.” The committee wrote in a letter accompanying Mr Chesebro’s subpoena.
The committee also sent a subpoena to Christina Bobb, who works for One America News Network and was reportedly involved in efforts to develop an executive order for Mr. Trump that would have federal agencies confiscate voting machines in many states. Ms. Bobb was present in the “war room” of Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, at the Willard Hotel on Jan. 6, the committee said.
Ms. Bobb is said to be writing a book about Jan. 6 and was interviewing Mr. Trump for the project, meaning she would likely have notes for the committee to get through a subpoena.
Capitol Riot Aftermath: Key Events
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First court. Guy Wesley Reffit, who is accused of obstructing the work of Congress on January 6, is to be the first defendant to stand trial in a case related to the Capitol riots. The trial, which begins on February 28, will set the tone for dozens of other cases.
Another lawyer subpoenaed on Tuesday, Katherine Friss, was also reportedly involved in efforts to draft an executive order directing federal agencies to confiscate voting machines and at one point “traveled to Michigan trying to get data on voting machines.” directly from local residents. officials,” the letter attached to her agenda says.
Kurt Olsen, a pro-Trump lawyer, also reportedly drafted an executive order for Trump that directed the Justice Department to “take action against voters.” the committee’s statement accompanying its subpoena.
The commission also sent a subpoena to Philip Kline, the former Attorney General of Kansas, who called a meeting between Mr. Trump and more than 300 state lawmakers “in an attempt to spread alleged evidence of election fraud” and urged lawmakers to sign a letter urging Mike Pence, then Vice President President, to postpone the January 6 electoral certification, the committee said.
None of the potential witnesses responded to requests for comment.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.