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Rudy Giuliani
Photo: Robert Bumsted/AP
Just over a year ago, the US Capitol was stormed by an angry mob.
A committee of inquiry is to clarify whether and to what extent ex-President Donald Trump fueled this – and now wants to question his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
In addition to Giuliani, two other Trump attorneys, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, and Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn have been summoned to testify under threat of punishment, the committee said.
They were all asked to hand over documents.
The reason given was that those affected "formed unsubstantiated theories about voter fraud, advanced efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former president to prevent the voter count from being counted."
Giuliani, as Trump's personal attorney, was at the forefront of pushing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud after the November 2020 election and trying to prevent confirmation of Joe Biden's victory.
Dozens of lawsuits brought by the Trump camp to contest the election results have failed.
Trump still claims to this day that he was deprived of victory through electoral fraud.
The clear winner of the election was current President Joe Biden.
400 testimonies
The committee has already summoned numerous former Trump advisers and employees or asked them to testify. However, several of those affected are refusing to appear before the panel, which is dominated by Biden's Democrats. Because of disregard for Congress, the US House of Representatives has therefore cleared the way for criminal proceedings against Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon, among others.
According to the committee, nearly 400 witnesses have testified to the events of January 6, 2021 so far.
At the time, Trump supporters stormed the US Congress to prevent official confirmation of Biden's election victory.
Five people were killed, including a police officer.
Trump had to face impeachment after inciting his supporters in a speech.
The Senate majority needed to convict the Republican did not materialize because most of his party friends in the House of Representatives supported Trump.
mrc/dpa