The select committee of the House investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is in active discussions with former White House attorney Pat Cipollone over a possible public appearance at one of his upcoming hearings, according to sources knowledgeable about the subject.
Cipollone and former White House Deputy Attorney Pat Philbin previously met with committee investigators for an informal interview in April.
Cipollone was one of the few aides who was with then-President Donald Trump on the west wing on January 6th. ABC News previously reported that in the days following the Capitol attack, it informed Trump that Trump could face civil liability in connection with his role in encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol.
According to the sources, there are a number of circumstances that could serve to complicate any eventual appearance of Cipollone – among them the question of who interrogates him and for how long; if there are ongoing privilege issues; and whether Trump would approve of his appearance.
Michael Purpura, a former White House deputy attorney who was part of the legal team that defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial, represents Cipollone in talks with committee investigators, they said. sources.
Cipollone also made it clear that his testimony would be limited to the effort made by former senior Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to use the powers of the DOJ to push Trump’s attempts to revoke the 2020 election. say knowledgeable sources of deliberations.
Cipollone’s representatives did not respond to ABC’s request for comment. A spokesman for the commission declined to comment.
White House attorney Pat Cipollone is attending a cabinet meeting in the East Room of the White House on May 19, 2020.
Alex Wong / Getty Images, FILE
The committee hopes to get Cipollone’s public testimony in a panel with former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and then-Deputy Richard Donoghue, along with one of the former DOJ’s top attorneys, Steve Engel, sources said. Both Rosen and Donoghue have received formal invitations from the committee to appear.
Both Cipollone and Philbin were part of a January 3 Oval Office meeting where Trump insisted on replacing Rosen with Clark, a Trump loyalist who had promised to use the Justice Department to investigate the election.
Officials at the meeting also discussed Clark’s proposal to send a letter to Georgia state officials urging state officials to investigate unfounded allegations of fraud with a view to revoking President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
According to Donoghue, Cipollone and Philbin made it clear to Trump that they would resign if Clark were installed, and Cipollone described Georgia’s letter as a “murder-suicide pact” that “would harm anyone and anything that comes his way.” , according to a report. Last year, the Senate committee report detailed cases in which Trump and his allies tried to use the DOJ to overturn the election.
ABC News previously obtained and published emails dated December 28, 2020, showing Clark circulating this draft letter, which he wanted Rosen and Donoghue to sign.