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The Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor on Thursday sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the January 6 committee in federal court, alleging it failed to follow its own rules and that it doesn’t have the legal authority to compel him to testify.
The lawsuit filed by state Senator Doug Mastriano says that the House, led by Pelosi, failed to follow its own rules and failed to make sure that the Jan. 6 committee had a ranking member and therefore can’t compel his deposition under rules Congress set for itself.
The suit also challenged the validity of Chairman Bennie Thompson’s signature on Mastriano’s subpoena, questioning whether it’s his own or that it may be an autopen signature generated by his staff.
“The focus of this complaint is not the legitimacy of the Committee. Rather, it is the Committee’s absolute inability to legally compel deposition testimony in compliance with the Regulations for Use of Deposition Authority,” the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. argued. “A properly appointed Ranking Minority Member is necessary for a witness, such as Plaintiff, to avail himself of the protections afforded to him in the Rules on the Use of Deposition Authority.”
“The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is unable to comply with the House Regulations for the Use of Deposition Authority and is therefore unable to conduct a compelled deposition of the Plaintiff, or any other witness who does not consent to being deposed,” it added.
Mastriano’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, backed his argument by providing a letter from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy that stated that Democrats were in violation of their rules and cited a 1978 court ruling that congressional subpoenas are enforceable only when the committees “conform strictly to the resolution establishing its investigatory powers.”
Just The News reported:
Mastriano, a state senator backed by Donald Trump, won the GOP nomination for governor and is facing Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro in November. Mastriano was subpoenaed earlier this year by the committee over his efforts to investigate election irregularities in his state during the 2020 election.
The complaint laid out conversations – some in colorful detail – that Mastriano’s legal team held with the committee to reach a negotiated deal to testify. It alleges Democrats would not agree to Mastriano’s requests that any deposition is transparent to avoid Democrats cherry-picking information and leaks to influence the election.
“Because Plaintiff is currently the Republican nominee for Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he asked the Committee to agree to certain prophylactic measures that would ensure that his participation would not run the risk of improperly influencing the Pennsylvania state election,” the lawsuit said.
“Unfortunately, the Committee refused to negotiate any terms of a voluntary interview that would prevent them from improperly influencing the election, thus necessitating this litigation,” it added.
The suit asks the court to make a “declaratory judgment that Plaintiff is not required to sit for a compelled deposition” and also to order Congress to pay Mastriano’s legal bills.
