WASHINGTON --
Stephen Miller, who served as a high aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, was questioned for hours Thursday by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 rebel.
Miller was a senior adviser for coverage in the course of the Trump administration and a central determine in most of the Republican's choices. He had resisted earlier efforts by the committee, submitting a lawsuit final month looking for to quash a subpoena for his cellphone information.
Miller was interviewed just about for about eight hours, in line with an individual accustomed to the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate personal testimony. A second particular person additionally confirmed that Miller appeared earlier than the committee. A spokesperson for the committee mentioned the panel had no remark, and Miller didn't instantly return a message looking for remark.
Miller is the most recent in a collection of sit-downs the committee has scored with these in Trump's internal circle as lawmakers transfer nearer to the previous president by questioning individuals who had been with him on the day of the assault or had been his confidants within the weeks main as much as it.
His look comes weeks after Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, additionally agreed to sit down down with congressional investigators, months after the committee had first reached out.
Members of the panel mentioned Kushner's testimony in late March, which lasted greater than six hours, was useful. Ivanka Trump, who was along with her father within the White Home on Jan. 6, was questioned for eight hours final week as congressional investigators tried to piece collectively her father's failed effort to delay the certification of the 2020 election outcomes.
The nine-member panel subpoenaed the previous Trump adviser in November together with Steve Bannon and former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the panel's chairman, mentioned on the time that Miller was conscious of and had participated in "efforts to unfold false details about alleged voter fraud" and had inspired state legislatures to change the end result of the 2020 election by appointing alternate electors.
Thompson has additionally mentioned that Miller helped put together Trump's remarks for a rally on the Ellipse that preceded the rebel and was with Trump when he spoke.
The Home voted final week to carry former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt for his or her monthlong refusal to adjust to subpoenas. The transfer was the third time the panel has referred individuals within the former president's orbit to the Justice Division for potential prosecution for contempt. The primary two referrals, despatched late final yr, had been for former White Home chief of workers Mark Meadows and Bannon.
The contempt referral towards Bannon resulted in an indictment, with a trial set to start out in July. The Justice Division has been slower to determine whether or not to prosecute Meadows, a lot to the committee's frustration.
By agreeing to cooperate, Miller seems to be trying to keep away from the destiny of these former advisers and administration officers.
For the committee, comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans, the central information of the rebel are recognized, however what members are hoping to do with the greater than 850 interviews and over 100,000 paperwork is fill within the remaining gaps in regards to the assault on the Capitol. Lawmakers say they're dedicated to presenting a full accounting to make sure it by no means occurs once more.
The panel is analyzing each facet of the riot, together with what Trump was doing whereas it unfolded and any connections between the White Home and the Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol constructing.
Members plan to launch info within the coming months because the committee begins to carry public hearings and finally launch a collection of studies on the rebel. Whereas there have been discussions about the potential for finally pursuing a legal referral towards Trump, lawmakers haven't made a ultimate resolution.
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Related Press author Nomaan Service provider in Washington contributed to this report.
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