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Trump tried to call a White House support staff member who was in talks with the Jan. 6 panel, source says
Former President Donald Trump tried to call a member of the White House support staff who was talking to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.
Politics
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump tried to call a member of the White House support staff who was talking to the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, a source familiar with the issue told NBC News on Wednesday.
CNN first reported that the witness works at the White House.
The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., asserted Tuesday that Trump tried to call a witness involved in the committee’s investigation. She did not identify the person.
She described the recipient as someone “you have not yet seen in these hearings.”
“That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump’s call and instead alerted their lawyer to the call. Their lawyer alerted us,” Cheney said.
The committee alerted the Justice Department, she added.
Asked to comment Tuesday on the alleged call, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich instead pointed to one of his own tweets earlier in the day criticizing Cheney, the committee and the media.
The committee's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters earlier Wednesday that the Justice Department would determine whether there was any illegal conduct.
“You know, we are concerned, obviously, about the witness. And we’re not going to put that witness in unnecessary jeopardy,” Thompson said Wednesday, a day after the panel first revealed the alleged call.