Mastriano sues Jan. 6 committee
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is suing the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, seeking to block the panel from enforcing its subpoena for his testimony.
The suit makes a familiar argument that has largely been rejected by courts, asserting the committee has no authority to compel testimony given its construction with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) serving as its vice chair rather than a leadership-appointed ranking member.
“Because the Select Committee has absolutely no authority to conduct compelled depositions, plaintiff was willing to sit for a voluntary interview,” Mastriano’s attorney Timothy Parlatore wrote in the filing.
“However, because plaintiff is currently the Republican nominee for governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he asked the committee to agree to certain prophylactic measures that would ensure that his participation would not run the risk of improperly influencing the Pennsylvania state election. Unfortunately, the committee refused to negotiate any terms of a voluntary interview that would prevent them from improperly influencing the election, thus necessitating this litigation.”
The select House committee subpoenaed the Pennsylvania state lawmaker in February, citing his involvement in a plan to send alternate slates of electors on Jan. 6, 2021, in order to swing the 2020 election for former President Trump.
Mastriano in June said he would sit for an interview with the committee and released documents he had shared with the panel. But it was more limited than what the committee asked for, with Parlatore saying they needed guardrails to avoid information “related to official actions that you took as an elected lawmaker.”
DEVELOPING.
Source: TEST FEED1
