Donald Trump’s White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone, Will Testify In Response To Subpoena

The January 6th Committee has asked Pat Cipollone, who served as White House counsel during Donald Trump’s term, to testify about the events that took place in the last weeks of Trump’s presidency. He has now agreed, in response to a subpoena, to speak to the panel.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, appeared as a witness in a surprise public hearing last week, sharing a plethora of information about Donald Trump’s behavior on January 6th, as well as actions by some of those in his orbit. This included relating an anecdote shared by a Secret Service member, and describing her own interactions with Cipollone, who she describes calling on her to make sure Trump didn’t end up at the Capitol.

Hutchinson on what Pat Cipollone told her before the rally:

“Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol. Keep in touch with me. We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.” pic.twitter.com/4rFZh210gS

— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) June 28, 2022

In a separate interview, Hutchinson related an exchange she witnessed between Cipollone and Meadows, in which she says that the two discussed Trump’s unwillingness to stop his mob, even when appealed to for the safety of Vice President Mike Pence. Hutchinson says that the discussion included a statement that, upon hearing that people wanted to kill Pence, Trump responded to say that his VP “deserves it.”

Former Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson recalls 1/6 exchange between Meadows and WH counsel Pat Cipollone:

Cipollone: “They’re literally calling for the vice president to be f-ing hung.”

Meadows: “[Trump] thinks Mike [Pence] deserves it.”

Cipollone: “This is f-ing crazy.” pic.twitter.com/UQvIC61BpA

— The Recount (@therecount) June 28, 2022

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Hutchinson, however, did not claim to have witnessed Trump actually saying this, only the discussion about it. However, Cipollone is in the position to be able to confirm or deny the interaction, as well as bearing witness to numerous other facts, such as what the then-president said to him, how many times he had to stop Trump and allies from taking a specific action regarding the election due to illegality, and what Trump knew about the legality of the actions that were taken.

Liz Cheney, in her role as the Committee’s Vice-Chair, issued a public plea for Cipollone to come answer questions, and the panel announced last Wednesday that the attorney had been subpoenaed.

“The Select Committee’s investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded. While the Select Committee appreciates Mr. Cipollone’s earlier informal engagement with our investigation, the committee needs to hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations. Any concerns Mr. Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony.”

According to Axios, Cipollone has spoken to the Committee before, but did not allow the interview to be transcribed or recorded. He will give the panel a new interview on Friday, on a more formal level, allowing it to be recorded, although it will not be public. It is not yet clear whether his negotiations prevent portions of the questioning from being presented at future public hearings, as has been done with other witnesses.