Jan. 6 committee drops subpoena of Trump campaign adviser Cleta Mitchell records
Ryan King
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The House Jan. 6 committee dropped its subpoena pursuit of phone records from former Trump adviser Cleta Mitchell as the panel winds down its work.
Mitchell, who was reportedly with former President Donald Trump on the day of the Jan. 6 riot, was the subject of a subpoena to AT&T for records pertinent to the panel’s investigation. In recent days, the panel has also withdrawn phone record subpoenas for former deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka and photographer Amy Harris.
JAN. 6 COMMITTEE REPORT TO FOCUS ALMOST ENTIRELY ON TRUMP
“Due to the withdrawal by the Chairman of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol of the subpoena issued to AT&T for cellular records associated with Plaintiff’s telephone number and account, the parties hereby agree and stipulate to a voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice. The parties further agree and stipulate that they each will bear their own costs,” a court document in the matter read.
Mitchell, a conservative lawyer, sued to quash the subpoena back in February, arguing it was unlawful. That petition led to a long-winded court battle with the committee.
Jan. 6 investigators were interested in the knowledge she had from assisting with a lawsuit filed on behalf of Trump over the 2020 election. That suit later resurfaced after a judge suggested Trump lied in a court filing related to that challenge.
The suit was ultimately withdrawn after a judge failed to take up the case before Jan. 6, Mitchell claimed in a motion to quash the Jan. 6 committee subpoena. She further insisted there was nothing “unusual” about her work.
A clip from a deposition from Mitchell was played during one of the committee’s public hearings over the summer in which she detailed efforts by Trump-aligned lawyers to push state election officials to appoint Trump electors ahead of the Jan. 6 electoral certification.
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With the incoming House Republican majority looming, the Jan. 6 committee is scrambling behind the scenes to wrap up its final report on its findings, which is expected to focus heavily on Trump. Committee members have also teased that they may issue criminal referrals.
Those referrals will carry no legal weight as it will be up to law enforcement agencies to decide whether to issue criminal charges. Committee members are reportedly mulling over whether to issue a referral for Trump, who defied a committee subpoena last month, as well as a handful of his allies, such as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.