Jan. 6 committee subpoenas six people hours before State of the Union address

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot issued six subpoenas on Tuesday, just hours before President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.

The subpoenas were issued to six attorneys: Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro, Christina Bobb, Katherine Friess, Kurt Olsen and Phillip Kline.

"The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts to disrupt or delay the certification of electoral votes and any efforts to corruptly change the outcome of the 2020 election," Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a press release. "The six individuals we've subpoenaed today all have knowledge related to those matters and will help the Select Committee better understand all the various strategies employed to potentially affect the outcome of the election."

The committee accused Mitchell, a former Oklahoma state representative and conservative activist, of promoting claims of election fraud to lawmakers and participating in then-President Donald Trump's post-election phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. 

Appalette attorney Kenneth Chesbro "actively promoted legal theories within the Trump campaign supporting the use of slates of bogus electors," the committee accused.

Bobb, host of OAN's "Weekly Briefing," reportedly participated in drafting an executive order for the government to seize voting machines, the panel stated.

The committee claimed that attorney Katherine Friess, who filed a lawsuit last week to stop the Jan. 6 committee from obtaining her phone records, also was involved in the executive order to seize voting equipment.

Attorney Olsen was reportedly involved legal action that "would have directed the Department of Justice to 'take voter action,'" the committee claimed.

Kline, Amistad Project Director and Liberty University professor, created a meeting between Trump and more than 300 state lawmakers to allegedly disseminate evidence of election fraud, the panel stated.

The subpoenas come hours before President Biden's State of the Union address. The committee is facing pressure to conclude its investigation within the next year, as it is unlikely the panel will be able to continue its work if Republicans take control of the House this fall.