As it continues its probe and rockets towards a previously revealed slate of public hearings, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot has unveiled three new subpoenas. The targets include two individuals who the panel identified as advisers to Donald Trump Jr., alongside a third individual who served with Trump; all three of the targets were involved in putting together the outdoor rally in D.C. that immediately preceded the attack on the Capitol, the committee says. The advisers to Trump Jr. include Andy Surabian and Arthur Schwartz, while the Trump staffer is Ross Worthington — who apparently helped with writing the speech that Trump gave at that D.C. rally.
BREAKING – the Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed two close advisors to @DonaldJTrumpJr and a WH official who helped draft Trump's Ellipse speech:
-Andy Surabian
-Arthur Schwartz
-Ross WorthingtonStory TK w/ @kyledcheney
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) January 11, 2022
As for Surabian and Schwartz, a press release from the riot investigation committee states that the two “were strategists who both served as advisors to Donald Trump, Jr. and were communicating with individuals including Donald Trump, Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle regarding the January 6th Ellipse rally.” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairperson of the riot investigation panel, commented as follows:
‘Protests on [January 6] escalated into an attack on our democracy. Protestors became rioters who carried out a violent attempt to derail the peaceful transfer of power. We have reason to believe the individuals we’ve subpoenaed today have relevant information and we expect them to join the more than 340 individuals who have spoken with the Select Committee as we push ahead to investigate this attack on our democracy and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.’
370 days ago insurrectionists ransacked the US Capitol and *hours later* 138-of-202 (68%) House republicans voted to make trump a dictator. They tried to finish the rioters’ job and end democracy. Never forget it.
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) January 12, 2022
It’s not immediately clear whether these individuals might comply with the committee’s demands to the extent that the panel hopes — although it’s worth noting that the number of individuals with whom investigators have spoken has been steadily increasing, despite the best efforts at obstruction from Trump and his allies. Surabian’s lawyer Daniel Bean stated that he and his client “plan on cooperating with the Committee within reason,” while statements tied to the other subpoena targets didn’t appear to be immediately available. Meanwhile, Thompson also confirmed this week that the committee is hoping to speak with longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, who was a prominent figure in the attempts after the last election to keep Trump in power, despite his loss. Giuliani — considering his documented antagonism towards, well, reality — doesn’t exactly seem likely to be eager to comply.
Trump’s speech at that January 6 rally in D.C. concluded, in part, with him telling his supporters: “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore… We’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we’re going to the Capitol, and we’re going to try and give… our Republicans, — the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help — we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
NEW: Biden admin reported in court last week it has now reunited 112 children separated from parents by Trump admin. Filing also said Biden admin still hasn't been able to reach parents of 237 kids. Task force ED @MichelleBrane said previously over 1,000 remain separated.
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) January 12, 2022
