Historical Compliance of Former Presidents with Congressional Subpoenas

A few days ago, when the House committee investigating Jan. 6 issued a subpoena to former President Donald J. Trump, it raised a legal question: Can Congress compel a former president to testify?

The committee’s move, while dramatic, is not without precedent.

What do presidential subpoenas of the past teach us about the moment we’re in, and about what the former president might do next?

Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The Jan. 6 committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Trump, paving the way for a potentially historic court fight over whether Congress can compel testimony from a former president.
• If the former president fights the subpoena, his lawyers are likely to muster a battery of constitutional and procedural arguments for why a court should allow him not to testify.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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