The January 6 Committee Is Finally Getting Trump Allies to Spill
Capitol Attack
The January 6 Committee Is Finally Getting Trump Allies to Spill
Steve Bannon is an exception, but things have largely changed now the former president is out of office.
By Eric Lutz
October 27, 2021
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CNN reported Tuesday that at least five former Trump staffers have provided information to the committee investigating January 6, either because they “believe they have information worth sharing” or simply to preempt a potential subpoena. Among those who have come forward: Alyssa Farah, the former Mike Pence spokeswoman who quit as White House communications director in December 2020 because she “saw where this was heading.” “The president and certain advisers around him are directly responsible,” she told Politico the day after the Capitol attack.
In addition to those who have voluntarily spoken with the committee, congressional investigators are reaching out to other former White House staffers to solicit compliance. “I’ve got good reason to believe a number of them are horrified and scandalized by what took place on January 6 and they want to do their legal duty and their civic duty by coming forward to explain exactly what happened,” Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin told CNN on Tuesday. “We’re going to continue to encourage everybody who has relevant information to come and talk.”
That engagement, be it voluntary or compelled, already appears to be yielding damning information. Over the weekend, Rolling Stone reported on eye-popping allegations that have been detailed to the committee, including that several House Republicans were “intimately involved” in planning the January 6 rally and that one, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, suggested Trump would offer organizers a “blanket pardon” for any trouble that followed. This never materialized, which perhaps explains the feelings of betrayal some rioters have expressed, particularly in the face of major legal consequences. “January 6th was a disgrace to our nation that left a scar Trump is ultimately responsible for,” one Capitol attack defendant, Thomas Sibick, wrote in a letter to Judge Amy Berman Jackson recently requesting release from jail, claiming he was “consumed by the mob mentality.” He added, “I have vowed to never attend another political protest in my life, that was my first and last!”
More is likely on the way: Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark is due to testify next week, and legal scholar John Eastman is expected to be hit with a subpoena. Both were part of Trump’s plot to try to overturn his election loss; the latter wrote a memo outlining how Trump’s DOJ could go about throwing out the results and undermining the will of the people. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s White House has once again refused to allow Trump to claim executive privilege over records related to January 6, allowing the committee access to more investigative materials. As Axios suggested Wednesday, Bannon’s failure to cooperate may be an aberration for a committee that actually seems to be chugging along with impressive momentum.
more but not much...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/10/january-6-committee-is-finally-getting-trump-allies-to-spill
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