It just means you have to show up. Doesn’t mean you have to talk.
And unlike a Search Warrant, which you cannot fight until after the fact in a suppression hearing, a subpoena can be fought, before the fact.
Search Warrant: court order to come for some type of evidence. you try to prevent that, the cops get the evidence(if it’s there) and you’re charged with obstruction or forced to sit in the corner while everything is recovered. The cops take what they want. You then go to a Suppression Hearing and the court decides that the warrant was indeed valid and the search conducted within the law. You lose, you’re screwed. You win, case is more than likely tossed. What you’ll find is, if a guy loses a suppression hearing, they’ll usually take a plea.
Subpoena: you’re basically ‘asked’ to produce the documents and records. You can then ask the court for a hearing and have the cops explain why they want documents and records, thereby laying out their entire case. If the judge agrees with the cops, you turn them over. If the judge agrees with you, you don’t turn them over.
Your subpoena will say something like....turn this information over, on or before Dec 30, 2019, or come to court to explain why you’re not...something along those lines.
If Biden is subpoenaed he can fight it and state that there’s no reason why he should. The Defense, POTUS, will argue that he does have to show up and then give their explanation as to why he needs to testify. So, the court sides with the Defense and forces Biden to show up. He does have to do that, but he doesn’t have to answer any questions, just exercise his right against being a witness against himself. Of course, that leads to another set of problems, like being held in Contempt of Court. So, there’s the tap dance. Do you risk a Contempt charge and give the world a reason to speculate about what you’re hiding? Or do you try to talk your way out of it? Either way, Biden is screwed.
If he doesn’t testify he’ll forever have the stain that he’s hiding something and someone. The Defense can then lay out the evidence they have against him(wire transfers of money or phone transcripts showing he’s dirty, whatever they have), and he just has to sit there and take it. Or he could try and respond, which would be a disaster.
If he does try to respond, he’s such an idiot and arrogant that he’ll probably rat out half of DC and then challenge the Defense to a push up contest.
POTUS has him between a rock and a hard place if this thing goes to the Senate. As he does Schiff, Nadler, Pelosi, Ciaramella and a whole host of others.
https://www.politico.com/story/2012/06/holder-held-in-contempt-of-congress-077988
The House has voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his failure to turn over documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal, the first time Congress has taken such a dramatic move against a sitting Cabinet official.....
Thank you for the explanation.