Trump subpoenaed

and he lashes out as expected

On October 13, 2022, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify before the committee.

Donald Trump’s response, posted on Truth Social, was not unexpected:

“Why didn’t the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago? Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total “BUST” that has only served to further divide our Country which, by the way, is doing very badly - A laughing stock all over the World?”

At last check (early this morning), it had almost 27,000 likes.

A few realist thoughts and observations (other why the third sentence of Trump’s post has a question mark)

First, Donald Trump can almost certainly ignore the subpoena. If the House flips to the GOP, the Committee will be disbanded rather quickly. Given the time frame between the issuance of a subpoena and actually having to enforce its authority through a Contempt of Congress vote, Trump could have said nothing and actually frustrated his congressional detractors.

Second, as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)¹ pointed out, Donald Trump was asked to testify at his Second Impeachment Trial and refused. Trump’s complaint that he was not asked earlier to testify about January 6th falls flat on that and that alone. And there’s the Hillary Clinton comparison. Hillary, the object of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, was effectively its last witness.

Third, your Facebook feed (and other social media sites) is about to be inundated with comparisons between Trump and Hillary. It’s not really where Donald Trump wants to go — Hillary testifies and acquits herself well² and Donald doesn’t.

Fourth, given the fact that the Select Committee has outlined a strong criminal case against Trump³, the Truth Social rant is a sign that Trump is opting for victimization over simply remaining silent and letting his lawyers do the talking.

Fifth, the Committee nailed down two very dunning facts for Trump: one, that he knew he was losing going into election day, and two, he knew he had lost after the Supreme Court ruled against him in December 2020. More on this in the future.

1. Raskin is a member of the Select Committee and served as one of the House Managers (prosecutors) in Trump’s Second Impeachment trial.

2. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/hillarys-moment-at-the-benghazi-hearing

3. A great read by Robert Reich https://substack.com/inbox/post/78246237