Select Committee of the House on January 6 Capital Riot issued its first summons on Thursday – targeting the former white house Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and two close Donald Trump confidant as well as a former Pentagon official.
Meadows featured prominently in Trump’s efforts to pressure state officials in Georgia and other states, where Trump pushed claims of election fraud as part of his election reversal effort.
The summons went to former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, longtime Trump and White House aide Dan Scavino and former Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel.
According to a committee, “While acting as White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows communicated with state level and Justice Department officials as part of an effort to reverse the results of the 2020 election or prevent authentication of the election.” . . release.
It also cited press reports from the organizers of the January 6 ‘Stop the Steel’ rally before the riots.
The House Select Committee on the Capitol riots has summoned former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and director of social media and assistant to President Dan Scavino.
‘We understand that in the weeks following the November 2020 election, you contacted a number of state officials to encourage investigations into allegations of electoral fraud, even after state and federal courts dismissed such allegations. was, and also after the Electoral College meeting and voting. December 14, 2020,’ as per the summons letter. In addition, at least one press report indicates that you were in communication with organizers of the January 6 rally, including Amy Kramer of Women for America First. Accordingly, the Select Committee calls for both the documents and the testimony of your statement in respect of these and other matters which are under the scrutiny of the Select Committee.’
The committee has already sent extensive document requests to the National Archives as well as other government agencies seeking information on several former officials. Its affiliates are probing government documents and documents sought from social media companies.
The letter to Bannon identified him as being present at the Willard Hotel on January 5, 2021 – and cited Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book, Peril.
“You have been identified as having been present at the Willard Hotel on January 5, 2021 in connection with other activities on January 6 in an effort to persuade members of Congress to withhold the authentication of the election to the next day,” it said. . .’
‘You are described as having communicated with then-President Trump on December 30, 2020 and potentially other opportunities, urging him to plan and focus his efforts on January 6.’ It is called.
It also quotes Bannon on January 5 as saying that ‘tomorrow all hell breaks loose.’
The committee noted that former Trump golfer Cady Scavino, who became a close aide who managed Trump’s Twitter account, was with Trump at key moments.
In the summons sent to Bannon, he was identified as being present at the Willard Hotel on January 5, 2021.
Trump loyalist Kash Patel became the Defense Secretary’s chief of staff. The summons cites a press report in the administration’s final days of an attempt to install him in the CIA.
In this January 6, 2021, file photo with the White House in the background, President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Washington
According to the committee, “reporting indicates that Daniel Scavino, the former White House deputy chief of communication with the former president on January 5, was in discussion about persuading members of Congress not to testify to the election for Joe Biden. During.” Were.’ Ahead of January 6 for Trump, Mr Scavino promoted the event on Twitter, encouraging people to “be a part of history”.
Patel’s involvement reflects the panel’s interest in questioning high-level staff changes in the final months and weeks of the Trump administration.
It cites reports that Trump ‘attempted to install Mr Patel as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency in early December, but called off that planned appointment after then-CIA director Gina Haspel threatened to resign. Canceled. was abandoned.
Representative Benny Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the selection committee, signed the summons letters
Summons letter cites time when aides were in contact with Trump on or around January 6
Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper a few days after the election, then installed Chris Miller as head of the Pentagon, only to bring in Patel, a Trump loyalist, as chief of staff. Patel was installed on 10 November, a week after the 3 November election.
according to a axon As reported in January, Haspel brought Patel to the CIA, and the effort was halted only after the intervention of Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
Patel previously served as an aide to California GOP Representative Devin Nunes, who fiercely defended Trump amid the Russia investigation.
In the summons, four people have been asked to sit for recording their statements on October 14 and October 15.
The Meadows letter says it appears that he was “within” around Trump on January 6, and was with Trump and others “in connection with the events in the Capital” and “witnesses concerning the events of that day”.
It also cites documents already obtained from the Justice Department, and states that ‘when you were the President’s Chief of Staff, you requested the highest officials of the Justice Department to investigate election fraud cases in several states directly. Was. There was a dialogue.’
All letters were signed by Representative Benny Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the panel. After negotiations broke down on the creation of an independent commission, the House formed the committee.
The House conferred the power of summoning on the committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi clashed with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy over her appointments to the committee, eventually naming GOP Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Keisinger (Ill.) themselves.
Bannon said on his podcast that he had spoken to Trump before the rally about ‘how to kill the Biden presidency in the cradle’.
Costa had cited the Willard meeting in a media interview and said that Bannon had told Trump about killing the Biden presidency in the crib.
“Yeah, because it’s legit,” Bannon added to his broadcast after the clip played. ‘Forty-two percent of the American people think Biden did not legitimately win the presidency.’
The Scavino letter says the panel has reason to believe it has information about Trump’s “communication strategy” leading up to the riot, and cites the same Willard meeting.
It added that it may contain material about his videotaping and tweeting on January 6.
It cites Scavino’s own tweet as evidence that he was tweeting from the White House on January 6.
Attempts to obtain information, especially from Scavino and Meadows, are sure to attract claims of executive privilege if they attempt to resist the summons.
Trump had already threatened to invoke the privilege late last month — just as he ordered officials to oppose a congressional investigation and went to court while he was in office.
“Executive privilege will be defended not only on behalf of my administration and the patriots who work with me, but also on behalf of the office of the President of America and the future of our nation,” Trump said in the statement.
.