Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, a key figure in then-President Trump’s inner circle who pushed back against some of his attempts to subvert the election results, has reportedly reached a deal to sit for a transcribed interview before the Jan. 6 Select Committee on Friday, according to multiple reports.
Cipollone is appearing after the panel subpoenaed him for testimony.
Cipollone will reportedly appear in private before the committee, the New York Times reported, citing a person briefed on the matter.
The deal for Cipollone to testify comes a week after the committee subpoenaed him, following shocking testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) noted in the subpoena that Cipollone did previously testify before the panel behind closed doors in April. But Thompson said that more evidence has emerged since then and the panel needed to speak with Cipollone again.
“In the weeks since, the Select Committee has continued to obtain evidence about which you are uniquely positioned to testify; unfortunately, however, you have declined to cooperate with us further, including by providing on-the-record testimony,” Thompson wrote. “We are left with no choice but to issue you this subpoena.”
Although the committee did not mention Hutchinson’s bombshell public testimony in the subpoena, the former Meadows aide revealed details on Cipollone’s reactions to the Capitol insurrection and Trump’s movements preceding it. Hutchinson testified that Cipollone repeatedly asked her to make sure Trump didn’t go to the Capitol on Jan. 6 because “[w]e’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen,” Hutchinson recalled Cipollone telling her.
Additionally, Hutchinson testified that Cipollone demanded Meadows take him to see Trump as the violence near the Capitol on Jan. 6 was unfolding. Meadows allegedly replied, “He doesn’t want to do anything, Pat,” Hutchinson testified.
News of Cipollone private testimony before the committee later this week also comes weeks after the panel began engaging in talks with him about potentially testifying publicly.
At the time, Cipollone reportedly told the committee that he would only testify publicly on former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark’s role in helping Trump try to weaponize the DOJ in his efforts to overturn the election results.
