WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former President Donald J. Trump, has agreed to an early meeting with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter .
The commission has not issued a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony, but he is expected to voluntarily answer questions, the person said. His testimony is scheduled after his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, met the panel on Monday for a lengthy interview, which the panel said would focus on its activities on the morning of January 6, 2021, including an Oval Office meeting with the former president, and her role in raising money for the meeting leading up to the attack on the Capitol.
The endorsement of Donald Trump Jr. to testify was previously reported by ABC News. It was confirmed by a well-known person who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks about the younger Mr. Trump’s plans to appear were confidential.
He would be the last relative of the former president to meet with the commission, which is investigating the deadliest attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. More than 150 police officers were injured in the violence as a pro-Trump mob . the former president’s lie about a stolen election stormed the building. Mr Trump’s sister, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have already testified in lengthy sessions with the panel.
The cooperation of members of Mr. Trump’s family contrasts with the stance of some of the former president’s allies, who have refused to meet with the commission or hand over documents. The panel has not yet decided whether the former president will be asked for an interview.
The panel’s investigators learned via text messages to Mark Meadows, the then White House chief of staff, of some of the younger Mr Trump’s actions regarding the attempt to undo the 2020 election.
Donald Trump Jr. sent a message two days after polling day in 2020 outlining strategies to declare his father the winner regardless of the election results.
“We have multiple paths,” he wrote to Mr. Meadows. “We control them all.”
The post went on to highlight options Mr Trump or his allies ultimately used to try and nullify the results of the election, including legal challenges, promoting alternative voter lists, and focusing efforts on the January 6 statutory date for the election. official of Congress. counting of the results of the Electoral College.
A lawyer for Donald Trump Jr. said the message “probably came from someone else and was forwarded”.
The younger Mr. Trump also texted Mr. Meadows during the riots and urged him to get the president to act if the violence unfolded.
In December, Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican and the commission’s vice chair, read from text messages Donald Trump Jr. to Mr. Meadows during the Capitol siege, in which he urged the president to speak out against mob violence.
“He needs to condemn this shit ASAP,” the younger Mr. Trump texted Mr. Meadows.
“I’m doing everything I can,” replied Mr. Meadows. “I agree.”
In another message, the younger Mr Trump pleaded with Mr Meadows, “We need an Oval address. He must lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
