The House committee is investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol and has subpoenaed the former president.

No president or former president has ever been forced to give testimony or documents in response to congressional subpoenas.

The separation of powers does not allow Congress to compel a President to testify, according to Trump's lawyer.

President Trump had engaged with the committee "in a good faith effort to resolve these concerns consistent with Executive Branch prerogatives and separation of powers," but the panel "insists on pursuing a political path, leaving President Trump with no choice but to involve the third branch, the judicial branch," according

The committee wouldn't comment on the filing, which came days before the deadline for Trump to start cooperating. The committee is expected to be dissolved at the end of the legislative session in January, meaning that Trump won't be required to testify.

It's just days before Trump is expected to formally launch his third campaign for president.

The committee voted to subpoena Trump during its final televised hearing before the elections and formally did so last month, demanding testimony from the former president either at the Capitol or by videoconference by mid-November.

The request for documents included personal communications between Trump and members of Congress and extremists. The nine-member panel extended the deadline for Trump's response to this week.

Trump's attorneys frame the subpoena as an interference with his First Amendment rights. The committee wants the same information from Trump.

The panel, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, said in a statement last week that it was in contact with Trump's attorneys.

The decision to subpoena Trump in October was a major step in the committee's investigation, which members said was necessary because of the former president's involvement in a multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair of the committee, said during an event last week that she thinks he has a legal obligation to testify.

In addition to demanding that Trump testify, the committee also made 19 requests for documents and communication, including for any messages Trump sent on the encrypted messaging app Signal or by any other means.

Trump's lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida, where other Trump lawyers succeeded in getting a special master to conduct an independent review of records seized by the FBI.