It does not appear that former President Donald Trump will be forced to testify before Congress on Capitol Hill. In order to avoid a subpoena put forth by the committee tasked with investigating the Capitol Hill riots of January 6, 2021, the Florida resident has filed a lawsuit. The legal filing put forth by Trump’s attorneys that the former reality show host should not have to testify because “no president or former president has ever been compelled to do so.”
“Long-held precedent and practice maintain that separation of powers prohibits Congress from compelling a President to testify before it,” attorney David A. Warrington said, according to the Associated Press.
Warrington also argues that Donald Trump should not have to testify because he worked with the committee “in a good faith effort to resolve these concerns consistent with Executive Branch prerogatives and separation of powers.” Instead, Warrington argues that the committee “insists on pursuing a political path, leaving [former] President Trump with no choice but to involve the third branch, the judicial branch, in this dispute between the executive and legislative branches.”
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the January 6 committee days before he was expected to meet a deadline involving the panel’s investigation. Given that the panel will disband at the end of January, it is unlikely that the lawsuit would be resolved in time to require Trump to testify. Instead, it appears that he will launch his third presidential campaign later this week.
