Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit last week seeking to block a subpoena from the congressional panel investigating the riot at the Capitol last year, a move that will likely run out the legal clock on compelling him to testify.
On Monday, one of the former president’s judicial appointees, Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, was assigned to handle his lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Trump’s latest litigation could ruin any chance for the panel to secure his testimony due to the likelihood that the panel will dissolve at the end of the year as Republicans eye victory in regaining the House of Representatives.
TRUMP LAWYER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO SUE TO BLOCK JAN. 6 SUBPOENA
Trump’s lawyers called the panel’s investigation a “quasi-criminal inquest” and challenged the committee’s authority to force his testimony. The subpoena required the former president to appear for a deposition on Monday, though Trump appeared likely to challenge the time frame of the request.
JUST IN: Trump lawsuit to block Jan. 6 committee subpoena assigned to judge Rodolfo Ruiz — a Trump appointee (which hasn’t always been an indicator of the result in these matters). pic.twitter.com/67b5OOaVH7
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 14, 2022
“President Trump, as a former President of the United States, has absolute immunity from being compelled to testify before Congress regarding his actions while in office,” the 41-page lawsuit said. “The Committee’s Subpoena is explicitly addressed to President Trump in his capacity as a former President, seeking information about his actions while President, and for the purpose of regulating future Presidents and is therefore invalid.”
Trump attorney David Warrington previously said the former president would refuse to appear in person but would consider responding to written questions, according to a Nov. 9 letter to the panel.
Members of the Jan. 6 committee have long anticipated Trump would likely attempt to delay or push back against the panel’s constraints. The committee previously asked Trump to deliver any relevant documents by Nov. 4, though the Nov. 9 letter said Trump “voluntarily directed a reasonable search for documents in his possession” but it “found no documents responsive to this request.”
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“Given the timing and nature of your letter — without any acknowledgement that Mr. Trump will ultimately comply with the subpoena — your approach on his behalf appears to be a delay tactic,” Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) wrote on Nov. 4.
Although Ruiz was assigned the lawsuit, it is possible another judge could be assigned in his place at a later date as litigation over this matter is still in its early stages.
