Jan. 6 committee subpoenas top Wisconsin Republican for immediate testimony about July call from Trump

The House select committee issued a subpoena over the weekend to Wisconsin House speaker Robin Vos seeking his testimony about a July phone call with Donald Trump.

The panel wants Vos to testify Monday, but the Wisconsin Republican is suing to block the subpoena, which he argues is outside the scope of the committee's authority and posed an “undue burden” by requiring his cooperation on such short notice, reported Politico.

“Speaker Vos’ conversations with former President Trump pertained to a recently decided Wisconsin Supreme Court decision about Wisconsin election law and any actions that could be taken in response to this decision moving forward,” the lawsuit states. “These topics do not pertain to the events of January 6th, or even (to construe the authorizing resolution broadly) the events leading up to it or its immediate aftermath.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the select committee chairman, told Vos his interactions with the former president was relevant to the panel's investigation and proposed recommendations, but the lawsuit contends that the subpoena was timed to coincide with the public hearing scheduled for this week.

“The only explanation for such an extreme timeline is the Committee’s desire to conduct the deposition before its next publicly televised hearing on Wednesday, September 28, 2022,” the lawsuit stated.

The subpoena says the committee is seeking testimony about a call between Trump and Vos, who told the former president the state's Constitution would not allow him to change the results of the 2020 election after the Wisconsin Supreme Court prohibited the use of drop-off boxes for absentee ballots outside election offices in future elections.

Trump then attacked Vos on his Truth Social website and endorsed his Republican primary challenger in the August primary.

“This is not a time for him to hide, but a time to act!” Trump posted. “I don’t know his opponent in the upcoming primary, but feel certain he will do well if Speaker Vos doesn’t move with gusto.”