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Dec 16, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Jan. 6 panel subpoenas retired colonel who strategized to overturn election

Shawna Chen
Photo of a crowd of Trump supporters waving signs and flags

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. Photo: Brent Stirton via Getty Images

The House Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday subpoenaed Phil Waldron, a retired Army colonel who served on former President Trump's outside legal team and spread baseless claims of election fraud.

Why it matters: Waldron created and shared a PowerPoint presentation that included possible strategies for overturning the 2020 election, according to the committee. It was circulated among Republican Congress members on the eve of Jan. 6.

  • "He was also apparently in communication with officials in the Trump White House and in Congress discussing his theories in the weeks leading up to the January 6th attack," Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee chair, said in a statement.
  • "The document he reportedly provided to Administration officials and Members of Congress is an alarming blueprint for overturning a nationwide election."

What's next: The committee has scheduled Waldron's deposition for Jan. 17. The subpoena asks him to hand over relevant documents by Jan. 10.

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