The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol has resolved to subpoena former U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of its final hearing to prove that Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election were deliberate.

Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel had determined that speaking with the former president was necessary.

“The committee needs to do everything in our power to tell the most complete story possible and present recommendations to help ensure nothing like Jan. 6 ever happens again,” Mr Thompson said. “We need to be fair and thorough and gain a full context for the evidence we’ve seen. But the need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond our fact-finding. He is required to answer for his actions.”

The committee last met publicly on July 21 and focused on Mr Trump’s activities during the Capitol siege. Though call logs for the afternoon of January 6 were empty, the panel noted that those for Trump lawyer and ally Rudy Giuliani show at least two calls between him and the former president that day. 

On the same day, Mr Trump made calls to several Republican senators to urge them to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s win, the panel said. The committee maintained that Mr Trump knew what was going on at the Capitol that day and could have taken action but did not.

In June, a former aide to Mr Trump testified, saying Mr Trump wanted to join the protesters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Cassidy Hutchinson recalled Mr Trump attempting to hijack the secret service limousine after he was told he would not be joining supporters moving to the U.S. Capitol on January 6. 

On January 6, 2021, protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting a Congress meeting to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory.