‘The Subpoena is DEAD!’ Trump and His Lawyer Take Victory Lap Over Withdrawn Jan. 6 Subpoena… That Was Set to Expire in Days Anyway

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Former President Donald Trump loves golfing, interior design that prominently features the color gold, and declaring victory. In fact, he loves declaring victory so much, sometimes he does it when he didn’t actually win (like his relentless and baseless claims that he won the 2020 election) or when the so-called victory was a relatively pointless one.

That’s the case with the withdrawal of a subpoena by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. With Republicans poised to retake control of the House in mere days when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2023, any outstanding subpoenas issued by the committee were set to expire anyway.

The ex-president reacted to the news that the committee was withdrawing the subpoena by channeling Frank Morgan’s memorable portrayal of the Wizard from the 1939 beloved classic film The Wizard of Oz.

“I am the Great and Powerful Trump! Pay no attention to that Special Counsel behind the curtain!”

OK, that’s not what he actually said. Here’s what Trump wrote on his Truth Social account:

Was just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena of me concerning the January 6th Protest of the CROOKED 2020 Presidential Election. They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court. Perhaps the FBI’s involvement in RIGGING the Election played into their decision. In any event, the Subpoena is DEAD!

Trump’s attorney Harmeet Dhillon took her own victory lap on Twitter, the social media platform where Trump’s account has been reinstated but he has yet to tweet again because it could cost him millions.

Like her client, Dhillon claimed the “W,” tweeting that the lawsuit her firm had filed was the reason that the committee had “waved the white flag” and withdrew the subpoena.

“We were confident of victory in court,” she wrote, attacking the committee for having “wasted millions for a purely political witch-hunt, total abuse of process & power serving no legitimate legislative purpose.”

As numerous commentators have pointed out, this wasn’t a victory won in court as much as it was the committee recognizing the reality of their expiration date.

One key issue highlighted by many of those critical tweets was how Dhillon, who is challenging Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair (along with MyPillow purveyor/conspiracy monger Mike Lindell, because we continue to live in the weirdest of timelines), had attached the letter from committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), which spelled out exactly why the subpoena was withdrawn.

“As you may know, the Select Committee has concluded its hearings, released its final report and will very soon reach its end,” wrote Thompson. “In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena.”

Still, considering the challenges and stumbles that the former president’s troubled legal team has faced as they’ve attempted to steer him through the committee’s investigation, the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, and other legal predicaments, it’s understandable Team Trump would want to wring whatever enjoyment they might out of even a pyrrhic victory — it might be the last one they can claim for quite awhile, with the various investigations chugging along, particularly those headed by the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney and the Special Counsel appointed by the DOJ.