Report: Donald Trump Jr. Testified Before Capitol Riot Panel on Tuesday

On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an apparent attempt to prevent then candidate Joe Biden from being named the next president of the United States. The special committee looking into the events that day has been interviewing members and associates of the Trump family.

Donald Trump Jr., the son of former US President Donald Trump, reportedly testified before the January 6 House select committee, a Wednesday report has detailed.

Citing two individuals familiar with the events, Politico reported Trump Jr.’s interview was given on the condition of anonymity and marks the latest Trump family member to testify before the January 6 committee. The interview comes after those involving Trump Jr.’s fiancee Kimberly Guifoyle, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who have all testified in front of the committee.

The meeting is said to have lasted several hours on Tuesday and despite the condition of anonymity, it was highly suspected he would talk to the panel since its launch. ABCNews reported last month that a meeting was imminent.

The goal of the meeting with Trump Jr. is to discover exactly what Trump had planned for January 6. Trump Jr. was reportedly in the Oval Office with his father the morning of the riot and a private schedule obtained by the committee indicates that Trump called then Vice President Mike Pence shortly after Trump Jr. and other family members arrived as part of a last ditch effort to get Pence to overturn the election results.

Amid the deadly riot, Trump Jr. sent a text message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging the official to tell his father to condemn the violence.

Trump Jr. also reportedly sent a text message to Meadows in the days before the riot, laying out a plan to have Pence refuse to count the Electoral College votes that would confirm Joe Biden as president.

Unlike his fiancee, Trump Jr. agreed to talk to the panel without being subpoenaed.

At the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally that took place immediately before the Capitol riot, Trump Jr. took to the stage, urging the crowd to “stay in this fight, stay loud, don’t be suppressed, don’t be put in your corner.”

To date, the House select committee has carried out interviews with more than 800 individuals since the panel’s inception in 2021. While some have willingly presented themselves before the lawmakers, others have not gone so quietly, such as former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who was indicted on a contempt charge for not appearing before the body.