Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Flynn and Eastman, Scrutinizing Election Plot

WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the Capitol issued caller subpoenas connected Monday for a half-dozen allies of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump, including his erstwhile nationalist information advisor Michael T. Flynn, arsenic it moved its absorption to an orchestrated effort to overturn the 2020 election.

The subpoenas bespeak an effort to spell beyond the events of the Capitol riot and delve deeper into what committee investigators judge gave emergence to it: a concerted run by Mr. Trump and his web of advisers to beforehand mendacious claims of elector fraud arsenic a mode to support him successful power. One of the radical summoned connected Monday was John Eastman, a lawyer who drafted a memo laying retired however Mr. Trump could usage the vice president and Congress to effort to invalidate the predetermination results.

In demanding records and grounds from the six Trump allies, the House sheet is widening its scrutiny of the mob onslaught to encompass the erstwhile president’s effort to enlist his ain government, authorities legislators astir the state and Congress successful his propulsion to overturn the election.

Mr. Flynn discussed seizing voting machines and invoking definite nationalist information exigency powers aft the election. Mr. Eastman wrote a memo to Mr. Trump suggesting that Vice President Mike Pence could cull electors from definite states during Congress’s number of Electoral College votes to contradict Joseph R. Biden Jr. a majority. And Bernard Kerik, the erstwhile New York constabulary commissioner who was besides subpoenaed, participated successful a readying gathering astatine the Willard Hotel successful Washington connected Jan. 5 aft backing baseless litigation and “Stop the Steal” efforts astir the state to push the prevarication of a stolen election.

“In the days earlier the Jan. 6 attack, the erstwhile president’s closest allies and advisers drove a run of misinformation astir the predetermination and planned ways to halt the number of Electoral College votes,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the committee chairman, said successful a statement. “The prime committee needs to cognize each item astir their efforts to overturn the election, including who they were talking to successful the White House and successful Congress, what connections they had with rallies that escalated into a riot and who paid for it all.”

The sheet besides issued subpoenas for Bill Stepien, Mr. Trump’s run manager, who supervised its conversion into a “Stop the Steal” operation; and Jason Miller, a elder advisor to the run who participated astatine the Jan. 5 gathering astatine the Willard, wherever associates discussed pressuring Mr. Pence not to certify the Electoral College results.

Also included successful the radical that received subpoenas connected Monday was Angela McCallum, the Trump campaign’s nationalist enforcement assistant, who left a dependable connection for an chartless Michigan authorities representative successful which she said she wanted to cognize whether the run could “count on” the typical to assistance name an alternate slate of electors.

The subpoenas — which bring to 25 the fig issued by the committee — necessitate that the witnesses crook implicit documents this period and beryllium for depositions successful aboriginal December. More than 150 witnesses person testified successful closed-door sessions with the committee’s investigators.

Mr. Flynn, Mr. Eastman and Mr. Kerik did not instantly respond to requests for remark connected Monday, and attempts to scope the different officials were not instantly successful.

The panel’s latest determination indicates that it is zeroing successful connected however — successful the days and weeks earlier a throng of Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted Congress’s counting of votes — the erstwhile president’s closest associates were readying an effort stretching from the Oval Office, the House and Senate to authorities officials crossed the country.

Critical to that push, investigators believe, was the gathering the time earlier the riot astatine the Willard Hotel. The Washington Post reported that Mr. Kerik paid for rooms and suites successful Washington hotels arsenic helium worked with Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s idiosyncratic lawyer, to beforehand baseless litigation and “Stop the Steal” efforts.

“They are truly honing successful connected this strategy astatine the Willard Hotel,” said Barbara L. McQuade, a erstwhile U.S. lawyer and a instrumentality prof astatine the University of Michigan. “If it’s a run warfare room, that’s 1 thing. But the question is: To what grade are they looking astatine blocking the certification of the election? The Eastman memo is simply a existent smoking gun. It truly appears to beryllium a concerted effort here.”

Even arsenic the committee ramps up its inquiry, it is facing stonewalling from Mr. Trump and galore of his allies, whom helium has directed to defy the sheet based connected a assertion of enforcement privilege.

Mr. Trump has filed suit against the committee to support concealed astatine slightest 770 pages of documents concerning handwritten notes, draught speeches and enforcement orders, and records of his calls, meetings and emails with authorities officials. But the Biden medication has declined to enactment his assertion to enforcement privilege, arguing that determination is nary specified prerogative for documents related to an effort to undermine ideology and the presidency itself.

The Justice Department is weighing whether to complaint Stephen K. Bannon with criminal contempt of Congress aft the House voted past period to urge his prosecution for defying its subpoena. Another witness, Jeffrey Clark, a erstwhile Justice Department authoritative who was progressive successful frenzied efforts to overturn the election, refused to cooperate connected Friday.

Mr. Flynn, who spent 33 years arsenic an Army quality officer, has emerged arsenic one of the astir utmost voices successful Mr. Trump’s push to overturn the election.

Mr. Flynn attended a meeting successful the Oval Office connected Dec. 18 successful which participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a nationalist emergency, invoking definite nationalist information exigency powers and continuing to dispersed the mendacious connection that the 2020 predetermination was tainted by wide fraud, the committee said. That gathering came aft Mr. Flynn gave an interrogation to the right-wing tract Newsmax successful which helium talked astir the purported precedent for deploying subject troops and declaring martial instrumentality to “rerun” the election.

Mr. Stepien helmed Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign, which urged authorities and enactment officials to impact the result of the predetermination by asking states to hold oregon contradict the certification of electoral votes and by sending aggregate slates of the votes to Congress to let a situation to the results, the committee said. In particular, Mr. Stepien supervised a fund-raising effort that sought to nett disconnected the predetermination challenges and beforehand lies astir voting machines that run unit had determined to beryllium false, the committee said.

Mr. Trump and the Republican Party raised $255.4 cardinal successful the 8 weeks aft the election arsenic helium promoted unfounded accusations of fraud.

Mr. Eastman has been the subject of aggravated scrutiny successful caller weeks aft it was revealed that helium wrote a memo to Mr. Trump suggesting that Mr. Pence could cull electors from definite states. Mr. Eastman is besides reported to person participated successful a briefing for astir 300 authorities legislators, during which helium told the radical that it was their work to “fix this, this egregious conduct, and marque definite that we’re not putting successful the White House immoderate feline that didn’t get elected,” the committee said.

He met with Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence to propulsion his arguments, participated successful the Jan. 5 gathering astatine the Willard and spoke astatine the “Stop the Steal” rally connected the Ellipse connected Jan. 6 earlier the Capitol assault. As unit broke out, helium sent a connection blaming Mr. Pence for not going on with his plan.