Sarah Burris is a long-time veteran of political campaigns, having worked as a fundraiser and media director across the United States. She transitioned into reporting while working for Rock the Vote, Future Majority and Wiretap Magazine, covering the Millennial Generation's perspective during the presidential elections. As a political writer, Burris has had bylines at CNN, Salon.com, BNR, and AlterNet and serves as a senior digital editor for RawStory.com.
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Congress voted to subpoena Donald Trump in the last public hearing, noting that there were witnesses who declared the Fifth Amendment rights, thus leaving unanswered questions that only Trump could answer.
Politico reported that Trump has hired the law firm that many others facing questions by Congress have also hired. The Dhillon Law Group has been retained by Michael Flynn, Trump ally Sebastian Gorka and Women for America First co-founder Amy Kremer.
"Harmeet Dhillon, the firm’s managing partner, is a national Republican committeewoman from California," said Politico. "She has helmed litigation related to other conservative causes including pushing back on policies that shut down schools, churches and businesses during the Covid pandemic. Dhillon has also been critical of previous select committee and Justice Department grand jury subpoenas to her other clients."
The full Congress has not yet voted on issuing the subpoena but is expected to.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CNN that the subpoena is forthcoming, “Nothing’s changed on that front. And we will see where we go from here.”
When issuing the subpoena and prior to the vote, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) explained that the subpoena seeks Trump's testimony and documents about his involvement ahead of the Jan. 6 attack.
Trump has spoken out on his social media site and to Fox network hosts that he would like to testify
The latest Monmouth University poll shows that Americans want to see Trump answer questions by the committee. Six in 10 Americans (60 percent) say that he should testify, with both Democrats and Independents overwhelmingly supporting the testimony. Only one-third of the public (34 percent) says that he shouldn't be forced to appear.
"I DEMAND EQUAL TIME!!!" the former president wrote in all-caps in June after the first round of public hearings.
"The Fake News Networks are perpetuating lies, falsehoods, and Russia, Russia, Russia type disinformation (same sick people, here we go again!) by allowing the low rated but nevertheless one sided and slanderous Unselect Committee hearings to go endlessly and aimlessly on (and on and on!)," Trump wrote.
In fact, the hearings have drawn millions of viewers, which has shifted the support for the committee since the start of the hearings. It has also moved the public's belief that Trump was largely responsible for the violence.