Trump aides summoned in US Capitol riot investigation

Lawmakers probing the deadly January 6 assault on the US Capitol issued subpoenas on Monday to top aides of Donald Trump who are accused of plotting to overturn his defeat in a “war room” at a luxury Washington hotel.

Lawyer John Eastman was among a number of advisers summoned to explain their role in the talks at the Willard InterContinental in the days surrounding the attack when Trump supporters stormed Congress to halt certification of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory.

Mr Eastman is said to have drafted a memo advising Mr Trump that his Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to simply reject the results in certain states and deny Mr Biden the victory.

He also reportedly hosted a January 2 meeting where he told around 300 state legislators it was their duty to fix “this egregious conduct and make sure that we're not putting in the White House some guy that didn't get elected”.

Crucially, Mr Eastman reportedly participated in a January 5 “war room” meeting at the Willard and spoke at a rally near the White House that preceded the attack.

He reportedly sent Mr Pence's lawyer an email during the siege, saying it had happened “because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way.”

“Your documents and testimony are directly relevant to the select committee's investigation, as you appear to have been instrumental in advising President Trump that Vice President Pence could determine which electors were recognised on January 6, a view that many of those who attacked the Capitol apparently also shared,” the committee told Mr Eastman in its subpoena.

A protestor is detained while bleeding from the head in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, on September 23, 2020, after a judge announced the charges brought by a grand jury against Detective Brett Hankison, one of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in March. AFP

The other targets are largely aides or official members of Mr Trump's reelection campaign whom the panel says were involved in promoting his lie that the presidential election was stolen.

They include former New York police chief Bernard Kerik and one-time campaign adviser Jason Miller, who are both said to have attended the January 5 “war room”.

Mike Flynn, Mr Trump's disgraced former national security adviser, was also summoned alongside reelection campaign manager William Stepien and executive assistant Angela McCallum.

“The select committee needs to know every detail about their efforts to overturn the election, including who they were talking to in the White House and in Congress, what connections they had with rallies that escalated into a riot, and who paid for it all,” panel chairman Bennie Thompson said.

It is the first round of subpoenas issued by the committee since the House asked the Department of Justice to pursue criminal contempt charges against Trump ally Steve Bannon for defying his congressional order to appear.