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handle is hein.crs/goveera0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional                                            ______
*Research Service
Resolving Subpoena Disputes
in the January 6 Investigation
October 19, 2021
The inquiry conducted by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S.
Capitol (Select Committee) has recently garnered headlines not only for the Committee's extensive
efforts to obtain information from a variety of public and private sources, but also for speculation that
some high-profile witnesses may not comply with the Select Committee's subpoenas. Stephen Bannon,
for example, has refused to provide the Select Committee with either his testimony or records. Because
Bannon may not be the only party to decline to answer all of the Select Committee's demands, this
Sidebar addresses how, as a legal and legislative matter, disputes over the Select Committee's authority to
access relevant information could unfold. Various parties may raise different arguments for withholding
information from the Select Committee, ranging from claims that withholding information from the
Committee is necessary to protect the former President's interest in executive privilege, to claims that the
Committee's request infringes on individual constitutional rights such as the Fourth or Fifth Amendment,
to claims that the subpoenas exceed the Committee's jurisdiction and authority. On Monday, October 18,
former President Trump filed suit challenging the validity of certain Select Committee demands for
information as constitutionally invalid and unenforceable. This Sidebar does not address the substantive
merits of such arguments, though other CRS products explore how arguments against the validity of
congressional subpoenas have typically been addressed by the courts.
Background
The Select Committee has a broad mandate. It is charged with investigating and reporting on the facts,
circumstances, and causes relating to the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol. The scope of inquiry
explicitly includes a review of influencing factors that contributed to the attack, as well as the role
played by technology, including online platforms in the motivation, organization, and execution of
the attack. In its final report, the Select Committee is to recommend corrective measures to prevent
future acts of domestic terrorism and to improve the security posture of the United States Capitol. The
Select Committee has, therefore, cast a wide net in search of relevant information by issuing
 requests for documents and materials to executive branch agencies such as the National
Archives and Records Administration (National Archives);
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10649
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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