Jan. 6 panel subpoenas a Trump ally who promised to pursue his election fraud claims

The Democratic-led House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena Wednesday for an ex-Justice Department official who had promised to pursue former President Donald Trump's false election fraud claims.

The official, Jeffrey Clark, was a key figure in a recent Senate report detailing Trump's attempts to enlist the department in his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Trump had considered replacing his acting attorney general at the time, Jeffrey Rosen, with Clark, who was in a lower-ranking position.

"The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about efforts inside the previous administration to delay the certification of the 2020 election and amplify misinformation about the election results," Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement. "We need to understand Mr. Clark's role in these efforts at the Justice Department and learn who was involved across the administration."

In a letter, the select panel is directing Clark to produce records by and to testify on Oct. 29.

Among the details from the recent Senate Judiciary Committee report, Clark had proposed delivery of a letter to Georgia state lawmakers and others to push for a delay in certifying election results, the House select committee noted. Clark also recommended holding a press conference announcing the Justice Department was investigating allegations of voter fraud despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud.