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The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack took the extraordinary step in voting to subpoena former President Donald Trump to have him testify under oath about the events which led up to the insurrection.
The attempt to get Trump to testify arrives as the January 6 panel aims to fully wrap up their investigation and deliver its final report on the insurrection before the end of the year, which could include recommendations that the Department of Justice (DoJ) indict the former president.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing and still pushes the false claim he won the 2020 presidential election, is highly unlikely to fully comply with the demands from the committee he has frequently attacked.
It is more than likely that he will fight the subpoena in courts in order to delay or frustrate any attempt to get him to answer questions.
Barbara McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor and former U.S attorney, said even if Trump does decide to comply, his contribution may be minimal at best.
"I would be surprised if the committee has the wherewithal to push Trump to appear," McQuade told Newsweek.
"My guess is he will stall, invoke executive privilege or even the Fifth Amendment, and never appear at all. If he invokes the Fifth Amendment, he cannot be compelled to testify unless he receives immunity, and no one is going to give him that."
Throughout the January 6 panel's investigation, several Trump allies have refused to comply with their congressional subpoena.
In the case of Steve Bannon, the former White House adviser was charged by the DoJ with contempt of congress and is currently awaiting sentence after being found guilty in July.
Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is also awaiting trial after being charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued to him by the January 6 committee.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and ex-deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino escaped prosecution from the DoJ, despite facing similar accusations.
The question remains whether Trump will be treated similarly to Bannon or Navarro if he refuses to comply with the subpoena.
In order to do so, the House of Representatives or the Senate must vote on whether to bring forward charges against Trump for contempt of Congress, with their recommendations then handed over to the DoJ to make a decision.
It is unclear if Congress would even be willing to push for such a politically charged vote, especially so close to the midterms.
There is also the possibility that the January 6 investigation will be forced to close if the Republican Party wins back control of the House and Senate in November's elections. It is almost certain that a GOP-controlled House would shut down the January 6 investigation at the start of the next term in January 2023.
This also would likely mean that a GOP-controlled House would not seek to enforce the subpoena served against Trump or push for the DoJ to bring an indictment for defying it.
As noted by former Justice Department senior trial attorney Richard A. Serafini in an opinion piece for NBC News, even if the Democrats hold onto power of the House and they vote to recommend charges against Trump, there is no guarantee that the DoJ will opt to make the historically significant step to charge a former president with a crime over a relatively minor misdemeanor.
"When it comes to the possibility of pressing charges should Trump continue not to comply, the Justice Department might very well decline to do so," Serafini wrote.
"It has already shown it does not automatically bring charges against those who defy congressional subpoenas. And there is likely to be little appetite in charging Trump specifically with contempt of Congress, as that would set a precedent for charging former presidents for low-level misconduct."
On Friday, Trump published a lengthy rebuttal of the House Select Committee's inquiry into January 6, accusing it of being a "charade and witch hunt," while continuing to push the false claim he lost the 2020 election.
Trump also did not confirm or deny whether he intends to comply with the congressional subpoena.
It should be noted that there is a precedent for a former president to ignore a subpoena without facing consequences. In 1953, Harry Truman refused to comply with a House subpoena issued by the controversial Committee on Un-American Activities investigating American citizens' alleged ties to the Communist Party.
Instead, Truman went on national television to deny that his assistant secretary of treasury was linked to communism, and the matter was not pressed further.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more