The US House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol on Thursday voted unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump, in the most aggressive action the panel has taken since it began its investigation last year.
Committee chair Bennie Thompson said the committee had an obligation to hear testimony from Mr Trump and that the former president "must be held accountable".
"We have left no doubt now that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of January 6," Mr Thompson said before the vote.
The vote came at the end of what could be the panel's final hearing before it releases a report of its findings.
"We also recognise that a subpoena to a former president is a serious and extraordinary action," Mr Thompson said.
"That’s why we want to take this step in full view of the American people, especially because the subject matter issue is so important."
But the subpoena will probably be met with defiance by Mr Trump, who is known to litigate investigative matters.
Should he defy his subpoena, the committee would have to decide whether to hold a House vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.
During its hearing, the panel told how Mr Trump was central to a multi-part plan to overturn the 2020 election in what amounted to a “staggering betrayal” of his oath of office.
“It's still hard to believe,” Mr Thompson said.
He and co-chair Liz Cheney said the former president had acted in a “substantial” and “premeditated” way in the events leading up to, and on the day of, January 6.
“None of this would have happened without him. He was personally and substantially involved in all of it,” Ms Cheney said.
Meanwhile, the former president took to social media to again perpetuate voter fraud claims.
"The Unselect Committee knowingly failed to examine the massive voter fraud which took place during the 2020 Presidential Election — the reason for what took place on January 6" Mr Trump said on his Truth social account on Thursday.
New footage provided by the panel showed members of Congress hiding in an undisclosed location while Capitol police were being overrun by the mob.
“And all at the instigation of the president the United States,” footage captured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying as she looked at a television screen showing protesters breaking the windows of the Capitol.
The committee also presented new evidence it had obtained from the Secret Service, revealing that the agency was aware of plans to attack the Capitol.
Congressman Adam Schiff said the committee has received nearly 1 million emails and other records from Secret Service officials.
Those included emails that warned protesters were “armed and ready” and “their plan is to literally kill people”.
In the months leading up to the attack, Mr Trump ignored advice from White House officials that his claims of fraud were false.
Instead he relentlessly repeated them to convince tens of millions of voters that he won the election.
The committee said the January 6 insurrection was not just a historic event, but also a warning on the fragility of American institutions.
“Why would Americans assume that our Constitution and our institutions in our republic are invulnerable to another attack? Why would we assume that those institutions will not fall next time?” Ms Cheney asked.
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On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington. AFP -
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have already spoken to January 6 investigators. Whether they will appear in primetime is yet to be determined. Reuters -
Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for former president Donald Trump, gives a press conference in the car park of the Four Seasons landscaping company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Joe Biden was declared as winner of the 2020 presidential election, which he claimed was false. As a result of these claims, Mr Giuliani can no longer practice law in the state of New York. EPA -
Donald Trump meets Clint Hickman, vice chairman of Arizona's 4th District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, at Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr Hickman said that he refused to take calls from the White House and Mr Trump, who he said was trying to overturn the battleground state's results. AP -
Four days before the Capitol riot, Donald Trump placed a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked the official to 'find' 11,780 votes to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the battleground state. The House committee investigators have already interviewed election officials in the state. AP -
Ruby Freeman was an employee of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 presidential election. After the state went to Joe Biden, Donald Trump accused Ms Freeman of stealing ballots in a call with Brad Raffensperger, who told Mr Trump that he was being misled by claims on social media. Reuters -
Kimberly Guilfoyle, engaged to Donald Trump's son, boasted to a Republican operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the January 6 Capitol riot. She may be called to testify. AFP -
Kash Patel, chief of staff to former acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller, gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee on December 9, 2021. Members of the committee and staff members had been meeting with Mr Patel and 'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander. Getty Images / AFP -
The Willard Hotel in Washington played home to a 'war room' set up by advisers of Donald Trump and has become the focus of the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack. AFP -
Former White House chief strategist in the Trump administration Steven Bannon leaves a federal courthouse in Washington after being indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. EPA -
Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidant of Donald Trump, gave a deposition before the committee in which he repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson was chosen by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson meets Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the select committee, Adam Kinzinger and Jamie Raskin on Capitol Hill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend contempt of Congress charges for former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark for defying his subpoena, refusing to answer questions and failing to hand over documents to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Liz Cheney, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and other members of the committee speak to reporters after meeting with Nancy Pelosi. Reuters -
Republican Scott Perry of Pennsylvania helped promote theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, resulting in millions of tax dollars spent on recounts in the state. Election workers there were also threatened with violence. Reuters -
Lawyer John Eastman spoke with Donald Trump's personal legal representative Rudy Giuliani at the January 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington. During the melee, Mr Eastman emailed Greg Jacobs, aid to vice president at the time Mike Pence, to say that it was Mr Pence's fault that the riot was taking place because he refused to block the election's certification results. Reuters -
Before Mike Pence could certify the Electoral College votes before Congress, the last step in the process before Joe Biden was to be sworn in, rioters breached the US Capitol. Outside the chamber doors, a person was shot and police officers were beaten and trampled as some rioters yelled: 'Hang Mike Pence!' EPA -
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he has no intention of complying with a subpoena to appear before the committee and missed a scheduled deposition. Committee members voted unanimously to pursue criminal contempt charges against Mr Meadows for refusing to give evidence. AFP -
In a legal setback, a federal appeals court ruled against Donald Trump, demanding he turn over White House records to the committee. AP -
Fox News host Sean Hannity sent text messages to the White House during the January 6 insurrection. AP -
The Oath Keepers is a US militia group that recruits former members of the military and law enforcement, with many participating in the January 6 attack. The committee has sent a subpoena to its founder, Stewart Rhoades, and several members have been arrested. AP -
The select committee subpoenaed Enrique Tarrio, naming him as leader of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that responded to Donald Trump’s call to descend on Washington and which played a central role in the attack on the Capitol. EPA -
US Olympic swimmer Klete Keller can be seen, with arms extended and wearing a blue kerchief covering his face, during the attack on the US Capitol. He pled guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and is co-operating with the committee. AFP -
House select committee member Liz Cheney told CNN that a witness said Donald Trump's daughter and former White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, pleaded with her father to put a stop to the violence that took place on January 6. Getty Images / AFP -
On January 9, 2021, Twitter banned Donald Trump after he tweeted his support for the rioters. Reuters -
'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary under former US president Donald Trump, leaves the O'Neill House office building following a meeting with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Reuters -
John Eastman, a lawyer for former president Donald Trump, possibly broke legal and ethical rules relating to the 2020 election. AP -
Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman, admitted to speaking with Donald Trump on January 6 but refuses to speak with the committee. Reuters
Recent polls suggest that Mr Trump's grip on the party still remains strong, despite his repeated lies.
Nearly one third of Republican statewide candidates on ballots — who would oversee election protocols — supported overturning the results of the 2020 election, an AP poll found.
Another analysis conducted by The Washington Post found that nearly half of Republican candidates looking to hold state and federal offices have denied or questioned the outcome of the 2020 election.
Mr Thompson said the committee's work was not politically motivated, noting that the panel has asked viewers to follow the hearings with an open mind and “to let the facts speak for themselves before reaching any judgment”.
But with Republicans expected to control the House of Representatives next year and shut down the January 6 committee's investigation, its members are on a tight deadline to submit a report on their findings.
An interim report could come before the midterm elections on November 8, Mr Thompson said, which would probably fuel the growing polarisation that races across the country have taken.
The panel is still hurrying to complete its final report by the end of the year.
