capitol riot aftermath
Reports: Donald Trump Jr. met with Jan. 6 committee
Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday voluntarily spoke with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, people familiar with the matter told CNN and The Associated Press.
While his sister Ivanka Trump and brother-in-law Jared Kushner served as senior advisers to former President Donald Trump, Trump Jr. was a campaign surrogate for his father, hitting the road to speak at events and rallies. He also pushed the false claim that there was widespread election fraud during the 2020 presidential election, and on Jan. 6, was backstage with his father at the "Stop the Steal" rally that took place before the Capitol riot.
A person familiar with the interview told CNN that Trump Jr. appeared remotely for an interview that lasted about three hours. It was cordial, the source said, and Trump Jr. answered the questions and did not invoke the Fifth Amendment.
The Jan. 6 committee has released text messages sent between Trump Jr. and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and at one point during the Capitol attack, Trump Jr. asked Meadows to get his father to speak out against the rioters. "We need an Oval address," Trump Jr. wrote. "He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand."
The committee has interviewed close to 1,000 witnesses, including Ivanka Trump, Kushner, and Trump Jr.'s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Some of Trump's closest allies during his time in the White House, including former chief strategist Stephen Bannon, have refused to cooperate with subpoenas. Bannon has been indicted, and is set to stand trial on contempt of Congress charges.