WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) — Donald Trump is claiming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the January 6th Select Committee lack the authority to issue him a subpoena to testify.
Donald J. Trump filed a complaint Nov. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the Select Committee to Investigate The January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, in her official capacity as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and others alleging infringement of Executive Privilege and other claims.
According to his complaint, Trump claims the defendants' issuing him a subpoena to turn over documents and testify regarding "events that occurred while he was President of the United States" forces him to chose "between preserving his rights and the constitutional prerogatives of the Executive Branch" or risk enforcement of the subpoena.
Trump further claims the subpoena is invalid because it was not issued to "further a valid legislative purpose," other sources can provide the information the defendants seek and that it is broader than necessary.
He alleges the subpoena also infringes on his executive privilege and his First Amendment rights to speech and association. In his suit, Trump also claims the Select Committee "lacks minority party representation" and that as a former president, he has "absolute testimonial immunity from compelled appearances before congress." He further alleges that the Select Committee is not a duly authorized committee and lacks authority to issue subpoenas.
Trump seeks declaratory judgements, an injunction to prohibit the enforcement of the subpoena and all other just relief. He is represented by Matthew Sarelson of The Dhillon Law Group Inc., in West Palm Beach, Harmeet Dhillon of The Dhillon Law Group Inc. in San Francisco and David Warrington of The Dhillon Law Group Inc., in Alexandria, Virginia.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida West Palm Beach Division case number 9:22-CV-81758-XXXX