Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano is suing the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, seeking to reject its subpoena for his testimony amid his midterm race.
The lawsuit argues the committee was not condoned by the Republican minority and selected Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., without House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's blessing, according to The Hill.
"Because the Select Committee has absolutely no authority to conduct compelled depositions, plaintiff was willing to sit for a voluntary interview," attorney Timothy Parlatore's filing read, according to the report.
"However, 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.
"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."
Mastriano, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was active in contesting the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania. Mastriano is facing Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro for the governor's mansion in November, making it ostensibly a proxy battle of Trump calls for election reforms as Democrats battle against those GOP-led efforts.
The House committee seeks Mastriano's testimony regarding alleged plans to send alternative electors to the House and Senate on Jan. 6 under the allegation of an election that was conducted outside the law.
Mastriano's Aug. 9 meeting with the committee was short, just 15 minutes, where he sought to keep his remarks out of electioneering efforts, according to The Hill.
Mastriano reportedly sought "some form of protection against the committee releasing edited and misleading clips of his interview."
The lawsuit filing alleges that Mastriano's attorneys questioned whether Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., issued the subpoena.
"The committee representatives became upset and refused to answer, thus increasing suspicions that Chairman Thompson did not issue the subpoena or the letter," the filing alleged.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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