Left, Right & Center is KCRW’s weekly civilized yet provocative confrontation over politics, policy and pop culture.
Trump gets subpoenaed by Jan. 6 Committee. Too late?
This week, the January 6 House Committee voted unanimously to subpoena testimony from former President Donald Trump.
In what could be the final televised hearing, the committee members recapped much of the evidence it’s been gathering for the last year. They presented proof that Trump wanted to join the violent mob that day, despite knowing he had lost the election.
The committee also played never-before-seen footage of congressional leaders during the Jan. 6 attack, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer attempting to contact state and federal officials for help.
After the hearing ended, Trump posted on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that the committee was a “bust,” and asked why they had waited for months to subpoena him. The former president has reportedly indicated he would appear before the committee if it televised live. What is Trump’s legal team weighing? And would live testimony give Trump the upper hand?
While the decision to subpoena a former president is uncommon, the ability to prosecute sits with the Department of Justice. And the Jan. 6 Committee will dissolve after it delivers its final report. So, have the members performed their job well? What will they need to show in their report to have any lasting impact?
Plus, Trump may run for president again. And nearly 300 candidates on the ballots for federal or state office next month deny that Trump lost the previous election. Could these hearings affect these candidates' chances of winning? Or does it fire up their supporters?
Host David Greene discusses with Jill Filipovic, columnist at CNN.com, on the left; and Sarah Isgur, staff writer at The Dispatch, on the right. And special guest Evelyn Farkas, executive director at the McCain Institute, weighs in on Russia’s latest tactics in their war against Ukraine and how its consequences are playing out across the world.