Trump is not the primary president to be subpoenaed by Congress: Listed here are the others

The Home committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill unanimously voted on Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump, escalating the panel’s efforts to dig into the impetus and impacts of the rebellion.

Whereas there have been a number of judicial subpoenas for presidents earlier than, congressional subpoenas for sitting or former White Home occupants are uncommon — however not unprecedented. (Trump didn’t instantly say Thursday whether or not he would comply or struggle as soon as the subpoena was issued.)

Individually, quite a few presidents have voluntarily testified earlier than Congress, however no sitting president has been pressured to look.

Listed here are the opposite presidents, sitting or former, who’ve been subpoenaed by Congress.

John Tyler and John Quincy Adams

Congress subpoenaed the 2 presidents after they’d already left workplace. The orders for testimony in 1848 stemmed from accusations by the Home Committee on International Affairs that then-Secretary of State Daniel Webster misused cash for a secret “contingent fund” utilized by presidents for clandestine intelligence operations.

Spending from the fund required presidential signatures, which led Congress to hunt the testimonies of Adams and Tyler. In workplace on the time, President James Polk refused to offer detailed info to Congress out of deference to the prior administrations.

The 2 former presidents nonetheless cooperated, with two choose investigative committees questioning Tyler whereas Adams supplied a sworn deposition to one among them.

Harry Truman

The notorious Home Committee on Un-American Actions, which reached its peak through the Chilly Warfare-era Pink Scare, subpoenaed former President Harry Truman to get info on his “Loyalty Program,” which was meant to root out anybody loyal to the Soviet Union.

The subpoena was issued after he left workplace and centered round Truman’s appointment of an assistant treasury secretary who was rumored to have communist ties.

Truman stated in a letter that he wouldn’t accommodate the subpoena despite his “private willingness” to cooperate, citing the Structure’s separation of powers.

“In case your intention is to inquire into any acts as a non-public particular person both earlier than or after my Presidency and unrelated to any acts as President, I shall be completely satisfied to look,” he wrote.

Richard Nixon

Nixon was truly subpoenaed twice by Congress, each in relation to the Watergate scandal.

The Senate panel probing the Watergate break-in subpoenaed Nixon in 1974 for tapes and data on a couple of event, although he declined, and the courtroom in the end rejected an effort by the committee to implement one of many subpoenas.

Nevertheless, the Home Judiciary Committee, which was additionally investigating the housebreaking that ended up costing Nixon his profession, subpoenaed paperwork that Nixon did find yourself handing over — although the committee did not suppose he had turned over all he had.