Another former confidant of Donald Trump challenged the former president and opened up to federal prosecutors about the behind-the-scenes machinations on the day of the Capitol riot.
Dan Scavino, who served as Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff for communications, spoke to the special counsel’s office about the former president’s anger toward the “stolen election” as riots broke out at the Capitol, ABC reported.
Scavino, who was ordered to testify by subpoena, was one of the few aides with direct access to Trump when chaos erupted.
As the assault on the Capitol unfolded, Trump was “simply not interested” in taking additional steps to stop the riot, but was “very angry” about what he described as a stolen election, Scavino reportedly told investigators.
Scavino had begun working with Trump as a teenager and quickly rose through the ranks to help manage Trump’s communications game in the White House.
While the riot was taking place, Trump watched television, sometimes silently, with his arms crossed, Scavino told special counsel Jack Smith’s team.
Dan Scavino has worked for Donald Trump from a young age and serves as an advisor to his re-election campaign. AP
That account apparently corroborates much of what witnesses told the now-defunct Jan. 6 House Select Committee about Trump’s reluctance to take action amid the looting of the Capitol.
Also speaking to investigators, another former Trump aide recalled Trump’s reaction to hearing that then-Vice President Mike Pence was taken to safety.
“So what?” reported Trump saying, according to ABC.
Some of the rioters had chanted slogans about hanging Pence. Trump, however, was upset that his No. 2 didn’t decertify the election for him.
Donald Trump was very angry on January 6, 2021, according to Dan Scavino. AFP via Getty Images
Shortly after the riot broke out, Trump’s confidants urged him to respond.
At one point they gave him some space. Shortly after, a message appeared on her Twitter account, now known as account X, suggesting that Pence “did not have the courage to do what should have been done.”
Attendees stirred backstage listening to the incendiary message. About thirty minutes after Trump confidants first urged him to respond, the then-president gave Scavino the go-ahead to write on Twitter, now known as X, a plea for the rioters to be peaceful, according to ABC.
Please support our Capitol Police and law enforcement. They are really on the side of our country. Stay peaceful!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
“I just wasn’t interested at the time in posting anything,” Scavino allegedly told Smith’s team, noting that Trump watched the chaos on television.
Heeding the pleas of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump later recorded a video addressing the crisis, in which he reiterated his dubious claim that “this was a fraudulent election” and called the rioters “very special.”
Scavino reportedly characterized that day as “very disturbing” and said he hoped Trump would usher in a peaceful transfer of power.
“This is his entire legacy here, and there is smoke coming out of the Capitol,” Scavino told Smith’s team that he told Trump on the night of January 6, 2021.
The 77-year-old former president faces 91 criminal charges spanning four indictments. REUTERS
Although many of the revelations in Scavino’s interview with Trump’s team corroborate public information about the day of the riot, his cooperation is significant because of his proximity to Trump that day.
Scavino is one of several key advisers, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, deputy counsel to the president Patrick Philbin and former Trump aide Nick Luna. , who investigators say have key information about Trump’s activities that revolved around that day. .
Scavino initially cited executive privilege when pressed with a House committee subpoena on Jan. 6. The panel and then Congress subsequently moved to hold him in contempt in 2022.
Jack Smith leads the Justice Department’s two indictments against Donald Trump. fake images
Ultimately, the Justice Department declined to bring charges against Scavino and Meadows despite Congress’s recommendation.
However, prosecutors have since gone ahead and obtained convictions against Trump ally Steve Bannon and former Trump manufacturing guru Peter Navarro.
They are both fighting those convictions.
“President Trump and Dan Scavino agreed that it could be part of the legacy but they still wanted to do it and they did it. There is no dispute about that,” a Trump campaign spokesperson told The Post.
“The media’s fascination with secondhand rumors shows how weak the witch hunt against President Trump is. “Dan Scavino is one of President Trump’s most loyal and long-serving allies, and his actual testimony shows just how strong President Trump is in this case.”
A spokesman for Smith’s office declined to comment.
Smith’s team charged Trump with four counts for his alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election and 34 counts for his alleged hoarding of classified documents.
Trump, who also faces two other charges, has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to all charges pending against him. His 2020 election trial was scheduled to begin on March 4.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn