An unnamed Capitol rioter has quietly been helping the House Select Committee in their investigation of the January 6th insurrection. And according to new reporting from Salon and Politico, it sounds like they’ve been incredibly cooperative.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 6: Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breached security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
The rioter, who was not named due to “fear of retaliation”, was reportedly interviewed twice by the Committee over the past week or so and “described knowledge of contacts between GOP officials in a key state Trump lost” and Trump’s allies, according to Politico.
BREAKING: The Select Committee has issued subpoenas to ten former administration officials, including individuals who served on the White House staff at the time of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. https://t.co/dEs1NRYhFO
The individual who testified is among the more than 650 people charged in the attack, and told the House committee about these purported contacts in a voluntary interview. The committee asked the rioter to return for a second interview after discussing the contacts. The panel questioned them about known organizers of the January 6th events and details about legal affidavits backing Trump’s election lies, according to the report. The person was also grilled on why they had attended the “Stop the Steal” rally and marched to the Capitol. Their “answers made clear that the defendant and others traveled in response to Trump and marched to the Capitol at his direction,” Politico reported.
10:32pm: Trump files a preemptive "emergency" motion for an injunction blocking the Jan. 6 committee from getting his White House records so he can appeal a hypothetical loss before a district judge (tbc, there is no decision yet)
This news comes amid a burst of recent activity from the Committee, which has issued a hefty amount of subpoenas in just the last two days. Vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) told Politico on Thursday that investigators have already interviewed more than 150 people.
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