By Staff, Agencies

Former US President Donald Trump is too much of a coward to obey a subpoena from the Congress compelling him to testify to a special committee investigating his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Sunday.

"I don't think he's man enough to show up. I don't think his lawyers will want him to show up because he has to testify under oath," Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC.

"We'll see if he's man enough to show up," she added.

On Friday, the select committee announced that it had issued the subpoena to Trump, giving him until November 4 to submit a wide range of documents related to his activities before and after the deadly January 6 attack by the former president's supporters. The panel also informed Trump that it wants him to appear for testimony on or about November 14.

Since he lost the 2020 election, Trump has insisted he is the victim of widespread voter fraud, an allegation that has been dismissed by scores of court cases and audits.

Nevertheless, Trump has maintained he did nothing illegal in pressing that case, including on the day of the Capitol riot. He regularly refers to the congressional panel as the "unselect committee" and has accused it of waging unfair political attacks on him.

The violence at the Capitol erupted as Trump supporters attempted to stop Congress from formally certifying Democrat Joe Biden's decisive win in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump and Pelosi have had a long, stormy relationship.

She guided two impeachment proceedings against him and their dislike of each other sometimes was on public display during his presidency.

At the conclusion of Trump's 2020 "State of the Union" speech to Congress, Pelosi disdainfully tore in half a printed copy of that address as she sat behind him during the nationally televised event. That came after Trump arrived at the House podium to begin the speech and refused to shake Pelosi's hand.