Jan. 6 committee negotiating 'under oath' testimony from Trump, Cheney says

Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney says the House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is negotiating with attorneys for former President Donald Trump to secure his "under oath" testimony.

Last month, the committee voted unanimously to subpoena the former president after holding a series of high-profile primetime hearings during which they attempted to pin the blame for the Capitol disturbance on Trump.

"The committee is in discussions with President Trump's attorneys and he has an obligation to comply," Cheney said, per Deadline, noting "[t]his is not a situation where the committee is going to put itself at mercy of Donald Trump."

The committee has little time left to secure Trump's testimony as the midterm elections are fast approaching and Republicans, heavily favored to secure the House, are likely to dissolve the committee entirely when they take over.

Trump secured a delay from the Supreme Court to stop the handover of his tax returns to a separate House committee, all but ensuring that Congress never receives them should the GOP take over. A similar delay to his testimony could prevent it altogether should the GOP win the House.

Cheney made clear that few details had yet been formalized. "We have not made determinations about format, but it'll be done under oath. It'll be done, potentially, over multiple days," she said.

Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, however, defied a subpoena from the committee and ultimately received a four month prison sentence for doing so.

Cheney, for her part, lost her primary contest to a Trump-backed challenger and will be leaving Congress after this term. She has since endorsed a slew of Democratic candidates and vowed to leave the GOP if Trump secured its nomination in 2024.