Jan. 6 committee withdraws Trump subpoena

Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote a letter to Trump’s lawyer late Wednesday, formally withdrawing the committee’s subpoena of the former president. Thompson, the Democratic chairman of the committee, added that the committee had already concluded its investigation and could no longer pursue obtaining testimony from Trump.

Why did the committee subpoena Trump? Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican member of the committee, said in October that the committee had an obligation to ask Trump for his side of the story, adding that every American was entitled to his answers. Trump sued to block the subpoena. The Jan. 6 committee’s lifespan expired before that lawsuit concluded. However, Trump lawyer Harmeet Dhillon wrote on Twitter that the committee had “waved the white flag."

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s Year in Review report in The Stew about what else happened in D.C. this year.