Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
The television show analogy commonly used to describe the work of the Jan. 6 committee is by now tired, but given the over-produced nature of the proceeding — which now includes what amounts to a season-ending cliffhanger following the committee’s Thursday vote to subpoena former President Donald Trump — the comparison is apt.
After months of investigation, numerous prime-time hearings, and having practically no effect on public opinion, the Jan. 6 committee managed to eke out at least a few more months of relevance by setting the stage for what could be quite the showdown … if it were to happen.
“The vast weight of the evidence so far has shown us that the central cause of Jan. 6 was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed,” outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair of the committee, said. “None of this would have happened without him. He was personally and substantially involved in all of it.
“We must seek the testimony under oath of Jan. 6th’s central player,” Cheney added. “We are obligated to seek answers from the man who set this all in motion.”
The committee’s decision came at the end of its ninth hearing, which was set to have been its final.
On Truth Social, Trump lambasted the committee, which is nothing new, and also questioned the timing of the subpoena.
“Why didn’t the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?” Trump asked. “Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total ‘BUST’ that has only served to further divide our Country which, by the way, is doing very badly — A laughing stock all over the World?”
The odds are immensely in favor of Trump never stepping foot before the committee, unless the former president feels an urgent desire to confront his political adversaries in person and under oath.
Given the late hour of the subpoena, the near-certain flipping of the House to a Republican majority, and the slog that can become the American court system, Trump will not likely be compelled to appear for months.
Assuming the likely legal battles stretch into 2023 and Republicans gain control of the House, the most likely scenario is a new right-leaning House votes to disband the committee before Trump appears.
As to the remainder of the ninth hearing, there was little novel to emerge. The committee presented more evidence that it feels ties Trump to the Jan. 6 riot or that shows Trump denied having lost the 2020 election. The latter is, at this point, barely news.
Trump has loudly and continually repeated his claims for nearly two years that the election was stolen due to voter fraud. In his Thursday criticism of the Jan. 6 committee, Trump reiterated his stance.
“The Unselect Committee knowingly failed to examine the massive voter fraud which took place during the 2020 Presidential Election — The reason for what took place on January 6th,” Trump posted on Truth Social.