In the wake of F.B.I. In search of former President Donald J. Trump's Florida property, the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is preparing to meet with two potential key witnesses in a separate investigation Tuesday.
The committee is expected to meet with Mike Pompeo, Trump's former secretary of state, and Douglas V. Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania who has served as a key figure in the state for a plan to keep Mr. Trump. in power by using “alternative” or “fake” voter lists.
Mr. Pompeo has been in talks with the committee about his appearance for weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter, and could provide testimony about discussions within Mr. Trump's cabinet about the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office. His office after the events of January 6, 2021.
Mr. Pompeo's discussion of the 25th Amendment is mentioned by Jonathan Carle of ABC News in his book "Betrayal."
A spokesman for the Jan. 6 commission declined to comment. A spokesman for Pompeo did not respond to a request for comment.
Tuesday's virtual interview with Mr Mastriano is expected to be short, as he plans to contest the commission's rules on video recording. Mr Mastriano's lawyer, who is currently a senator, said Mr Mastriano believes the committee will selectively amend his testimony, and plans to insist that his videotape of the interview be recorded. The commission rejected this option for other witnesses, including Rudolph Giuliani, Mr. Trump's personal attorney.
“Senator Mastriano has nothing to hide and will be happy to answer their questions. Our only concern is to prevent the committee from editing misleading and amended portions while keeping the appropriate context hidden.
Either you release him completely or let me do the work,” said Timothy C. Parlator, Mr. Mastriano's attorney, in a text message. Transcript and we have no problem. “Unfortunately, the committee refused to discuss any arrangements other than demanding that they be allowed to control exclusively which portions can be released.”
It is not clear what the Committee's response would be if Mr. Mastriano abruptly ended the interview.
Mr Mastriano, a former army officer, was at the Capitol on January 6, although he later clarified in a statement that he "followed the instructions of the Capitol Police and respected all police lines" that day. The committee said it wanted to meet Mr Mastriano because he spoke directly with Mr Trump about his "post-election activities".
Emails reviewed by The New York Times also show that Mr. Mastriano acted as the lead person for Trump's campaign as it assembled groups of pro-Trump voters in states won by President Biden. The emails showed Mr Mastriano needed assurances to keep up with the plan because other Republicans had told him it was "illegal".
Mr Mastriano turned over documents to the Jan. 6 commission that included information about people being taken to Washington for a large gathering that preceded the violence, and copies of his social media posts.