Even though he has told former members of his administration not to obey subpoenas they receive from the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection or talk to investigators with the 1/6 committee, many are doing exactly that, according to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the 1/6 committee, was a guest on “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” recently, and he made it clear that many former Trump White House officials are talking without even being subpoenaed:
“They do include people from the former administration. They include people in the private sector. They include people are experts in some of the — for example, the social media issues that we’re investigating. So they run the gamut.
“But I think what has been encouraging to us is because we’ve had the cooperation of people in the public and private sector we know what to ask for. And we know when we demand the production of documents, and we’re not getting the full truth that we can hold those parties accountable.”
The House Select Committee will also be deposing former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark today, according to The Hill:
Clark, who was subpoenaed by the committee in October, was set to appear before the committee last week, but got a brief delay after splitting with his attorney. A source familiar confirmed that Clark will sit for a closed door deposition with investigators from the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Clark, the former acting Civil Division assistant attorney general, won Trump’s favor after being introduced to the president by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), another staunch defender of Trump’s efforts in the days after he lost the election.
Clearly, former administration officials aren’t the least bit cowed by Trump’s demands that they remain silent and buck the inquiries of the Jan. 6 committee. That doesn’t bode well for the failed, one-term former president, and it also suggests that the committee will soon have enough evidence to make criminal referrals against Trump and top advisers such as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Hopefully the DOJ will charge all of the guilty parties.
