At least five Trump administration staffers have spoken with Jan 6 committee: CNN

At least five former staffers in the Trump administration have spoken with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a report by CNN.

The five people all spoke voluntarily after lawyers working with the committee reached out directly through email or text, according to CNN. 

The committee has reportedly contacted a number of former staffers, ranging from those on the junior level to individuals who were more senior.

Some of those who have been contacted have voluntarily spoken to the committee, while others have declined the invitation or ignored the message, CNN reported.

The network did not reveal which former Trump staffers have sat for conversations with the committee.

Sources told CNN that the request for their testimony is not necessarily related to the committee’s interest in what happened on Jan. 6, adding that lawmakers appear to be trying to gather information about happenings within the West Wing before, during and after the riot.

When reached by The Hill, a spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.

The report that Trump officials have voluntarily communicated with the congressional investigators comes as the committee’s probe is intensifying.

The House voted to hold former White House strategist Stephen Bannon in contempt of Congress last week after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the committee.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) also announced earlier this month that former chief of staff Mark Meadows and Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, have been “engaging” with the panel.

CNN also reported this weekend that Alyssa Farah, who served as director of strategic communications and assistant to the president, has spoken with Republicans on the panel in a voluntary capacity. She has sat for several meetings with the congressional investigators, sources told the network.

Farah resigned from her post at the White House in 2020.

Former President Trump suffered another blow connected to the Jan. 6 investigation on Monday, when the White House announced that it was rejecting more of his claims of executive privilege on documents requested by the congressional panel.

As a result, the White House directed the National Archives to give the committee the Trump-era documents.