Trump blasts Jan. 6 committee after they subpoena him

(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump slammed the Jan. 6 House Committee in a letter made public Friday, calling the committee’s members “highly partisan political hacks and thugs” after they unanimously voted to subpoena him on Thursday.

In a 14-page memo addressed to committee chairman U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the former president reiterated unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen, criticized the “unselect committee’s” television ratings, and called the entire process a “charade” and “witch hunt.”

The letter did not say whether Trump intends to testify, although experts say it’s highly unlikely.

The subpoena is part of the Jan. 6 committee’s commitment to drill down on its main theme in what is likely its last public hearing in its nearly 16-month-long investigation of the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The committee presented what it calls new evidence — such as Secret Service messages and emails that allegedly show law enforcement was aware that violence might be coming days before the Capitol riot.

“When you look back at what has come out through this committee’s work, the most striking fact, is that all this evidence comes almost entirely from Republicans,” Thompson said on Thursday.

The committee also played a video of Trump ally Roger Stone, who said on camera that he was encouraging the president to declare victory even before votes were done being counted.

The question that now remains is if the committee’s investigation will have an impact on voters ahead of November midterm elections.

Large numbers are thinking about other issues, according to a recent NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll, with 45% ranking inflation as the No. 1 issue that would determine their midterm votes, followed by abortion and climate change.

So far, it appears the hearings haven’t moved the needle of public opinion: An August Monmouth University poll said just 8% of Americans had changed their minds about the attack on the Capitol.

And Democrats seem to be taking that knowledge to the campaign trail, where ad firm AdImpact said less than 2% of all broadcast TV spending in House races has gone toward ads concerning Jan. 6, with just $2.7 million of the $163 million spent.

As far as what will come of the hearings, if Republicans take back the House majority — as several polls suggest — the Jan. 6 investigative committee is likely to be dissolved in January.

Under committee rules, a final report of finds from the panel is expected by the end of the year. The committee would disband 30 days after that.

Control of the House means control of all committees, and Republicans — if they take over — have told NewsNation they are poised to investigate a laundry list of topics ranging from the southern border, to the origins of COVID-19 to the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

Former Assistant Attorney General Tom Dupree told NewsNation’s “On Balance With Leland Vittert” on Thursday that the chances of Trump testifying are “somewhere between zero and zero.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.