Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), a member of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, said Jared Kushner’s testimony before the panel last week was “precise” and anything but “volatile,” the bare minimum for the often-combative members of Trump’s inner circle.
During an interview on CNN Sunday evening, Lofgren was asked about Kushner’s testimony and how crucial it is to the committee.
After declining to go into details about what Kushner shared until there is a vote of the committee to release the details of his testimony, Lofgren said the panel interviewed Kushner “all day long” and that there was “information exchanged.”
“We appreciate that Mr. Kushner came in,” Lofgren said, adding that the committee hopes to hear from Kushner’s wife and former President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, whom the panel also requested testimony from.
Lofgren said Kushner was largely cooperative during his testimony.
“He was not combative,” Lofgren said. “He was precise, and he didn’t volunteer anything, but he did answer questions, if he remembered the answers. So it was not a combative or a, you know, volatile exchange at all.”
As the Capitol insurrection unfolded last year, Kushner, who served as Trump’s senior adviser at the time, was traveling back from Saudi Arabia. Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told NPR last week that Kushner’s testimony could potentially help the panel “find out if he knew anything about the planning before January 6.”
Unlike Kushner, some Trumpworld figures have defied subpoenas issued by the Jan. 6 Select Committee. Among Trump’s cronies who defied the panel’s subpoenas, only former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has been charged with contempt of Congress thus far. The House voted to hold Bannon in criminal contempt in October. Bannon’s contempt of Congress trial is set for July.
Additionally, the House voted in December to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for criminal prosecution for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee. The Justice Department, however, has not pursued charges against Meadows. The former Trump official sued the committee, its members, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in an effort to block the enforcement of the committee’s subpoena.
Watch Lofgren’s remarks below:
