Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's followers voted overwhelmingly to subpoena the former president. If he does not comply, he might face criminal penalties.

The seven Democratic and two Republican members of the House select committee voted 9-0 in support of issuing a subpoena for Trump to give records and testimony under oath on the assault of the Capitol.

"He must be responsible. He must provide an account for his acts. He must account for those police officers who risked their lives and bodies to protect our democracy. He must answer to the millions of Americans whose ballots he attempted to discard as part of his plan to remain in office "Democratic panel chairman Representative Bennie Thompson stated.

The vote occurred after the committee spent more than two hours making its case - via statements from members, documents, and recorded testimony - that Trump planned to deny his 2020 election defeat in advance, failed to call off the thousands of supporters who stormed the Capitol, and continued to make false claims that the election was stolen even after his closest advisers informed him he had lost.

According to federal law, refusing to cooperate with a congressional subpoena is a misdemeanor punishable by one to twelve months in prison. If the subpoena issued by the select committee is disregarded, the full House must vote on whether to refer the matter to the Department of Justice, which has the jurisdiction to file charges.

Looming mid-terms

The subpoena is anticipated within days and would ordinarily provide Trump with a compliance deadline. It was unclear whether the entire House - which is out of town until mid-November - could vote on whether or not to issue a criminal referral.

Trump replied to the vote with heated comments on Truth Social, his social media platform. "Why did they wait until the very end of their final meeting? Because the Committee is a terrible "BUST" that has only served to further split our country, which, by the way, is doing extremely poorly - A global laughingstock? "He composed.

Steve Bannon, a top Trump strategist, is scheduled to be sentenced next week on contempt of Congress charges for failing to comply with a committee subpoena. However, the Justice Department declined to charge Mark Meadows, who the House had also recommended be charged.

Federal prosecutors are also examining the former president's removal of secret information from the White House at the conclusion of his administration, and they have warned that they do not believe they have recovered all of the stolen documents.

The House select committee has been examining the attack on the Capitol, which resulted in the injuries of more than 140 police officers and many deaths, for more than a year and has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses.

Thompson acknowledged that subpoenaing a former president was a serious measure, but maintained that the survival of American democracy was at stake.

The gathering on Thursday followed eight other hearings this year and one in July 2021. On Thursday, there were no live witnesses, but the panel presented videotaped testimony to make a case that Trump's efforts to reverse his loss in the November 2020 presidential election constituted criminal activity that went well beyond routine politics.

Fearss of violence

The committee revealed testimony from Secret Service agents and intelligence officials who stated, prior to January 6, that they anticipated violence at the pro-Trump protest and suspected that weapons caches existed across the District of Columbia.

"Their intention is to literally murder people. Please take this tip seriously and conduct more research "a Dec. 26 Secret Service communication wrote.

Thursday's vote could be the committee's last public action before the midterm elections on November 8, which will determine whether President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats or President Donald Trump's friends Republicans control Congress.

In the following weeks, the committee is also expected to release a report on its findings.

Representative Liz Cheney, the panel's vice chairwoman and a Republican, stated that the panel may ultimately decide to recommend multiple criminal cases to the Department of Justice.

Hearings held this year may have persuaded some Republicans that Trump is partially responsible for the attack. Two-fifths of Republicans, according to a two-day Reuters/Ipsos survey that finished on Wednesday, hold Trump at least somewhat responsible for the assault.

Previous hearings focused on Trump's inaction before and during the Capitol storming, his pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to deny Biden's victory, militias whose members participated in the attack, and Trump's interactions with close advisers who questioned his false claims of massive voter fraud.

The former reality television star has denied wrongdoing and intimated that he could run for president in 2024. He frequently holds rallies where he erroneously asserts that he lost the election due to rampant voter fraud.

More than 880 individuals have been detained in relation to the violence, and more than 400 have pled guilty.