U.S. Capitol riot panel demands testimony about 2020 fake electors plan

The U.S. congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol has issued subpoenas to several individuals involved in an unsuccessful "alternate electors" scheme to keep former President Donald Trump in office, the committee's chairman said on Friday.

The 14 relatively unknown individuals receiving subpoenas included David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, and Mayra Rodriguez, a lawyer and conservative activist in Michigan.

The U.S. president is selected by 538 electors, known as the Electoral College, with electors apportioned based on each state's population.

Officials on Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, led by his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, oversaw efforts to put forward illegitimate electors from seven states that the former president lost, CNN reported last week, citing three sources.

The committee is seeking information about those efforts and encourages individuals receiving subpoenas to cooperate, the committee's chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement on Friday.