Players from Donald Trump’s inner circle are the latest to be subpoenaed to testify before the Select Committee investigating the effort the overturn the election. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, White House aide Boris Epshteyn, and lawyers Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell were called to testify by Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson. The Wall Street Journal writes of Giuliani:
Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, represented Mr. Trump as his personal attorney beginning in 2018. After the 2020 election, Mr. Giuliani led a legal team, which included Ms. Ellis, that made unsupported allegations of a conspiracy to steal the presidential election for Joe Biden. There is no evidence of widespread fraud, and audits of millions of ballots in key states affirmed the outcome of the presidential election.
The Washington Post writes:
In a letter transmitting notice of the subpoenas, Thompson cites Giuliani’s involvement in seeking to convince state legislators to take steps to overturn the election results, his urging of Trump to seize voting machines across the country, and his contact with Trump in the days ahead of Jan. 6 “regarding strategies for delaying or overturning the results of the 2020 election.”
Politico adds Ellis wrote two memos arguing then VP Mike Pence could take the unusual step of rejecting some of Joe Biden’s electors to prevent Congress from certifying his victory.
Investigators also issued a subpoena to attorney Sidney Powell, who led a series of failed lawsuits attempting to reverse the election results. Powell also huddled with Trump and other advisers in the Oval Office in December 2020 to discuss last-ditch options for overturning the results. Trump briefly considered naming her special counsel to investigate the election results.
Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump campaign strategic adviser, was also subpoenaed. Epshteyn had been present at the Willard Hotel, where Giuliani and other advisers had led a “war room” on efforts to overturn Biden’s win, according to the Washington Post. Epshteyn had urged protesters to “stay PEACEFUL and respect the LAW” in a tweet on Jan. 6.
All four have been asked to appear before the committee on February 8th.