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Monday 24 october 2022
Cheney: 1/6 panel won’t let Trump turn testimony into circus
Continued from Front
She said the committee
would not allow Trump’s
testimony to turn into a
“food fight” on TV — much
as was seen, she said, in
Trump’s broadcast appear-
ances such as one of his
2020 presidential debates
— and she warned that the
committee will take action
if he does not comply with
the subpoena.
“We are going to proceed
in terms of the questioning
of the former president un-
der oath,” Cheney, R-Wyo.,
said on “Meet the Press” on
NBC. “It may take multiple
days, and it will be done
with a level of rigor and dis- Former President Donald Trump walks on stage at a rally, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Robstown,
cipline and seriousness that
it deserves. We are not go-
ing to allow — he’s not go-
ing to turn this into a circus.” ternatives that we will con- decides he is not going to
“We have many, many al- sider if the former president comply with his legal obli- every American citizen has publicans and seven Dem-
ject to President Joe Bi-
den’s victory.
House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday
that she doubted Trump
would appear for his depo-
sition and that the public
should know “that no one
is above the law.”
There remains little legal
advantage for Trump to
cooperate with the com-
mittee at a time when he
faces other legal battles in
various jurisdictions, includ-
ing over his family business
in New York and the han-
dling of presidential records
at his Mar-a-Lago estate in
Florida.
It’s possible that Trump’s
lawyers could simply opt
Texas. to run out the clock on
Associated Press the subpoena if they go to
court to try to squash it as
gation, a legal obligation the committee of two Re-
to comply with a subpoe- ocrats is required to finish
na,” she said. its work by the end of the
Her office made clear lat- year.
er that she and the Jan. 6 Cheney, in the television in-
committee were not ruling terview, made her position
out the possibility of live tes- clear that Trump had com-
timony. It did not indicate mitted “multiple criminal
what form that might take offenses” and should be
to avoid the “food fight” or prosecuted. She cited his
“circus” that Cheney said repeated efforts as outlined
would not happen. by the Jan. 6 committee to
The subpoena, issued Fri- undermine democracy by
day, calls on Trump to hand denying his election loss to
over documents by Nov. 4 Biden and by spurring his
and provide testimony “on supporters in the violent at-
or about” Nov. 14. tack on the Capitol.
It is unclear how Trump and “We’ve been very clear
his legal team will respond. about a number of differ-
He could comply or nego- ent criminal offenses that
tiate with the committee, are likely at issue here,”
announce he will defy the Cheney said.
subpoena or ignore it al- “If the Department of Jus-
together. He could go to tice determines that they
court and try to stop it. have the evidence that we
Last week, Steve Bannon, believe is there and they
a longtime Trump ally, was make a decision not to
sentenced to serve four prosecute, I think that really
months behind bars after calls into question whether
defying a subpoena from or not we’re a nation of
the same committee. He laws.”
remains free pending ap- Cheney, who lost in Wyo-
peal. Former Trump trade ming’s August primary after
adviser Peter Navarro also becoming Trump’s fiercest
awaits a trial next month on GOP critic and has signaled
similar contempt of Con- a possible 2024 presidential
gress charges. run, expressed dismay over
The subpoena includes re- the number of Republican
quests for any communica- candidates in the Nov. 8
tions referring to extremist midterms who deny the le-
groups who were coming gitimacy of the 2020 elec-
to Washington, pressure on tion. She acknowledged
state legislators to overturn that the Jan. 6 committee’s
the 2020 election vote and investigation will be perma-
messages about Vice Presi- nently ended in January if
dent Mike Pence, whom Republicans retake control
Trump was pushing to ob- of the House.q