“The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former President about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the committee, said in a statement Tuesday.
The subpoenas mark a significant escalation in the sweeping probe as the committee is now seeking to compel cooperation from those at the heart of Trump’s push to overturn the election — including Giuliani, who once served as his personal attorney — and voter fraud investigations predicated on voter fraud conspiracies.
Investigators have been asking witnesses about Giuliani and Powell during previous closed-door interviews but now want to hear directly from the former Trump attorneys.
In its letter to Giuliani, the committee cites witness testimony and public reporting that he urged Trump to seize voting machines even after DHS told him it did not have lawful authority to do so.
CNN has previously reported that in December 2020, Giuliani asked former DHS official Ken Cuccinelli whether the department could seize voting machines in certain states to be reexamined for evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Cuccinelli, who CNN previously reported has spoken to the committee, said in October that he told Giuliani the department had no legal authority to seize voting machines or interfere with state-run elections. Cuccinelli also said that “no one at any level pushed us to do anything outside of our existing mission sets.”
Kerik worked alongside Giuliani in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election to find any evidence of voter fraud that would swing it for Trump. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election.
As for Giuliani effort to seize voting machines — Kerik told the committee this is something they had looked at, had conversation with DHS and concluded they couldn’t do it.
Lawmakers were also asking about Powell and how she was separated from the Trump legal team.
This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Paula Reid contributed to this report.