House January 6 committee ‘in discussions’ with Trump’s attorneys for him to testify under oath, Cheney says
(CNN) — The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection is “in discussions” with former President Donald Trump’s attorneys about testifying under oath in the probe, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the vice chairwoman of the panel, said Tuesday.
Trump faces a Friday deadline to respond to the committee’s subpoena for documents, and a November 14 deadline for testimony. Cheney said during an event about the threat of political violence in Cleveland, Ohio, that the former President “has an obligation to comply,” but the panel has not yet made determinations about the format of his potential testimony.
“It’ll be done under oath. It’ll be done, potentially, over multiple days,” Cheney said, adding that this is not a situation where the committee finds itself at the “mercy of Donald Trump.”
CNN previously reported that Trump’s lawyers had accepted service of the committee’s subpoena but Cheney’s comments are the first indication that discussion between the two sides have begun.
CNN is reaching out to Trump’s legal team on Cheney’s comments Tuesday.
The panel subpoenaed Trump on October 21 seeking a wide array documents and for Trump to sit for an interview under oath beginning on November 14 and “continuing on subsequent days as necessary.”
A letter from the committee that accompanied the subpoena painted Trump as the central figure in the multi-step plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.