Pat Cipollone

Pat Cipollone, White House counsel under then-President Donald Trump, arrived at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 22, 2020. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone

Noting his refusal to cooperate beyond an informal April interview, the committee's chair said that "we are left with no choice."

A day after a key witness dropped "bombshell after bombshell" during a surprise hearing of the panel probing last year's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the committee on Wednesday subpoenaed former White House Counsel Pasquale "Pat" Cipollone for "on-the-record testimony."

Cassidy Hutchinson--an ex-special assistant to Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump's last chief of staff--testified Tuesday that Cipollone urged her to prevent Trump from joining a violent mob of his supporters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

As Hutchinson told the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol:

Mr. Cipollone said something to the effect of, "Please make sure we don't go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen."

In a Wednesday morning tweet, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee's vice chair, referenced Hutchinson's testimony that Cipollone "had significant concerns" regarding Trump's activities that day and declared that "it's time" for him "to testify on the record."

The committee announced the subpoena Wednesday evening in a statement echoing Cheney's earlier messages.

Cheney and the panel's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said in the statement that "the select committee's investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump's activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded."

"While the select committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone's earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations," they added. "Any concerns Mr. Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony."

Thompson's Wednesday letter to Cipollone explains that given his refusal to cooperate with the committee beyond an informal interview in April, "we are left with no choice but to issue you this subpoena."

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.