The next morning, Tony indeed received a subpoena from the Senate, ordering him to go to Washington to attend a hearing.
With a person of immense social influence like Tony Stark, even if he committed a crime, the police would not arrest him directly; instead, he had to face public interrogation and questioning by Congress first.
Only if they confirmed that Tony was truly guilty would the arrest process begin.
At the hearing, Stern accused Tony of illegally possessing a weapon of mass destruction such as the mecha, stating that according to federal law, he should be arrested and the mecha confiscated.
Yet, relying on his brilliant eloquence, Tony refuted Stern and Secretary of the Air Force Declan, who were giving him a hard time, leaving them utterly discredited and speechless.
It was worth mentioning that Declan ultimately still called Rhodey over as a witness.
"Before me is a threat assessment report on the Iron Man mecha by the military! To save everyone's time, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, please read page 57, paragraph four."
"This—Mr. Secretary, I feel that I should provide everyone with a more comprehensive and detailed complete report, rather than just reading a single excerpt."
Rhodey saw through Declan's ill intentions.
If he read only this single paragraph of the report out of context, it would indeed be very unfavorable to Tony and likely give other senators a bad impression of him.
"Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, everyone's time is precious, please follow orders!"
Declan ordered Rhodey in a stern tone.
"Very well, Mr. Secretary."
With no other choice, Rhodey could only follow Declan's demand and read that section of the report.
"The mecha used by Iron Man is not registered with any government agency, nor does it operate under military command. It poses a potential threat to national security