The House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Liz Cheney said the committee was compelled to request documents and testimony from Trump after more than 30 witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked about their conversations with the former president.
"Our duty today is to our country, to our children and to our constitution," Cheney said.
Thursday's public hearing was the first in nearly three months.
Cheney targeted Trump for fueling conspiracy theories ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"There is no defense that Donald Trump was duped or irrational," she said.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren called Trump's effort to delegitimize the 2020 presidential election "premeditated."
"President Trump's effort to convince Americans that he had won the 2020 election began before the election results even came in," she said. "It was intentional."
The hearing also featured a video clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for the Capitol to be secured after it was breached on Jan. 6, 2021. She was seen on video speaking with the governor of Virginia, asking for the National Guard to be deployed.
The committee is expected to finish its work before the midterm election next month. Several key committee members, including Vice Chair Liz Cheney, will no longer be in Congress at the start of 2023.
