KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday subpoenaed Phill Kline, a former Kansas attorney general who aided efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
According to the subpoena, Kline convened a meeting between President Donald Trump and more than 300 state legislators in an attempt "to disseminate purported evidence of election fraud" and encouraged the legislators to sign a letter urging Vice President Mike Pence to delay the electoral certification on Jan. 6, 2021.
As a last-ditch effort to remain in power, Trump and his supporters urged Pence to intervene to delay or block Congress' formal certification of the election results, a power the vice president doesn't have.
The subpoena appears to be the first public confirmation that Kline is under scrutiny. It comes as the committee has increasingly broadened its focus beyond the attack itself to include those spearheading efforts to overturn the election in the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6.
Kline, a Republican, was attorney general from 2003 until 2007 when he lost reelection. His Kansas law license has been suspended since 2013, stemming from his investigation into Kansas abortion providers as attorney general.
Kline founded The Amistad Project, which describes itself as "uncovering hard evidence of election meddling" and lists Kline as its founder. A lawyer for the project, Ian Northon, attempted to deliver a fake slate of presidential electors to the Michigan legislature in 2020. In January, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called on federal prosecutors to criminally investigate 16 Republicans who submitted false certificates claiming to be electors.
The subpoena to Kline cites a Jan. 3, 2021, story in the Washington Examiner that reported Kline had organized a call between Trump and state lawmakers. The newspaper said the call also included Rudy Giuliani, Trump trade czar Peter Navarro and others.
The subpoena, which orders Kline to produce documents and appear for a deposition, was part of a batch of subpoenas issued Tuesday to six individuals who promoted the idea that the election was fraudulent and "participated in, or encouraged, various actions based on those false claims," the committee said in a statement.
"The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts to disrupt or delay the certification of electoral votes and any efforts to corruptly change the outcome of the 2020 election. The six individuals we've subpoenaed today all have knowledge related to those matters and will help the Select Committee better understand all the various strategies employed to potentially affect the outcome of the election," Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the committee chairman and a Mississippi Democrat, said.
Kline has until March 15 to produce documents and must appear for a deposition on March 25.
Kline didn't immediately respond to a request for comment left with The Amistad Project late Tuesday.
