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WASHINGTON (CN) — Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump in his federal election subversion case filed a subpoena request Wednesday for the production of records they claim are missing from the archived records of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee.
“By these subpoenas, President Trump seeks to retrieve certain missing records and uncover information about their disposition,” attorney John Lauro wrote.
According to a letter from U.S. Representative Barry Loudermilk, the House Select Committee never transferred or archived numerous records from its investigation of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, including video recordings of transcribed interviews and depositions, which were featured prominently during the committee’s hearings, the filing states.
Trump’s attorneys claim that the missing video recordings and other records relate to Secret Service personnel and witnesses within the White House or Executive Department with direct and extensive knowledge of events around Jan. 6, who provided critical information for the committee’s investigation.
Because the indictment accuses the former president of directing supporters to the Capitol “to obstruct certification proceedings,” the “knowledge and intent of Trump and others is plainly relevant,” Lauro wrote. He added that these records could be offered “for the non-hearsay purpose of demonstrating a witness or party’s state of mind,” around Jan. 6.
Lauro noted that due to the “significant overlap” between the Select Committee’s investigation and the federal case, many of the individuals discussed in the missing records could likely be called as witnesses by prosecutors during trial.
“President Trump is fully entitled to seek the missing records by subpoena. It is also equally important to determine if these records have been lost, destroyed, or altered,” Lauro wrote.
“The requested subpoenas are narrowly tailored to achieve these legitimate ends, which are fundamental to ensuring President Trump’s right to a fair trial under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.”
The filing also requests that Trump be granted leave to serve the subpoenas “to the seven likely custodians of the requested records,” the archivist of the United States at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the clerk of the House of Representatives, the current Committee on House Administration, which is the successor to the Jan. 6 Select Committee, U.S. Representatives Barry Loudermilk and Bennie Thompson, the special counsel to the White House; and the general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security.
Lauro said that Trump’s counsel is entitled to know whether any evidence has been lost and that compelling the former president’s access to the requested documents is necessary to ensure a fair trial and for them “to raise a defense” against the “virtually limitless resources of government investigators.” He said that their team should be provided the opportunity to obtain material evidence that could be crucial for cross-examination.
Trump further requests that the court determine whether the government’s failure to preserve evidence rises to the level of a due process violation and suggests dismissal as a possible penalty.
The move comes less than a week after Trump filed a motion to dismiss his federal election subversion case, claiming the former president’s actions between the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were protected under presidential immunity.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who denied a previous motion from Trump to recuse herselffrom the case last month, has yet to issue a ruling on the matter. The trial is expected to begin on March 4, 2024.
Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four counts for conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, outright obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, along with the 87 other criminal counts he faces across three indictments in federal court in Florida for his mishandling of classified documents, state court in Georgia for election interference and in Manhattan for falsifying business records.
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