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The
House of Representatives committee demanded the pro-Trump
lawyers hand over documents and sit for depositions on Feb. 8.
Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee's chairman, said
in a statement that the panel expects the lawyers to join the
nearly 400 witnesses who have spoken with the Select Committee
as part of its investigation into the causes of the deadly
attack by Trump supporters.
The committee also subpoenaed Boris Epshteyn, a Trump political
adviser.
Robert Costello, a lawyer for Giuliani, said in an interview
that the subpoena was "political theater" and that his client
was constrained by the legal doctrines of attorney-client
privilege and executive privilege.
"I don't think there's anything here he can testify about,"
Costello said.
Powell, Epshteyn, and Ellis did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
"The four individuals we've subpoenaed today advanced
unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to
overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with
the former president about attempts to stop the counting of
electoral votes," Thompson said in the statement.
Powell, Giuliani, and Ellis jointly spoke at a Trump campaign
news conference on Nov. 19, 2020, where they vowed to overturn
President Joe Biden's election victory. Powell promised to
"release the Kraken," likening their effort to a mythological
sea monster.
The Trump campaign distanced itself from Powell after she
claimed without evidence at the news conference that electronic
voting systems had switched millions of ballots from Trump to
Biden.
Giuliani's New York law license was suspended in June, after a
state appeals court found he made "demonstrably false and
misleading" statements that widespread voter fraud undermined
the election, won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The committee is aiming to release an interim report in the
summer and a final report in the fall, a source familiar with
the investigation said last month.
CNN reported on Tuesday that the committee has subpoenaed and
obtained records of phone numbers associated with one of Trump's
children, Eric Trump, as well as Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is
engaged to Donald Trump Jr.
The Select Committee's members have said they will consider
passing along evidence of criminal conduct by Trump to the U.S.
Justice Department. Such a move, known as a criminal referral,
would be largely symbolic but would increase the political
pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to charge the
former president.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld;
Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot and Bernard Orr)
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