In November, ProPublica issued a report suggesting that Donald Trump Jr.’s then-girlfriend and now fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle appeared to be responsible for sending a text message to White House liaison Katrina Pierson boasting about huge sums of money she raised for the rally at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
It was among the very first indicators that members of Trump’s family were involved with the rally’s organization, financing, and planning.
Guilfoyle has not yet received a subpoena or a voluntary request for her compliance.
But during a recent appearance on MSNBC, Rep. Adam Kinzinger—one of two Republicans serving on the Jan. 6 committee—didn’t rule a subpoena out for Guilfoyle.
“I think there’s no doubt looking at the role Kimberly Guilfoyle played, that Don Jr. played, it would be obvious we need some information from them or people who would know things about what they were doing. We all saw the selfie video where they were dancing or laughing after the president’s speech. We just, all we want is answers, it’s not like there’s anything nefarious here. Let’s just find out what the truth is. And we will,” Kinzinger said.
For clarity, the video that Kinzinger referred to was not filmed after Trump’s speech, but was filmed just before Trump delivered his remarks.
Regardless, Guilfoyle is also heard on the video calling out then-Vice President Mike Pence, saying she hoped Trump’s second-in-command would have “the courage or the brains to do the right thing.”
For the president and the Trump campaign, that “right thing” would have been for Pence to reject certified electoral results and overturn the will of millions of voters. That was something Pence privately and publicly acknowledged he could not do under law despite the immense reported pressure on him by Trump and his coterie of strategists and advisers.
Guilfoyle’s text to Katrina Pierson showed her begging to be given a role on Jan. 6, asking Pierson to let her introduce Donald Trump Jr. since she had “raised so much money for this.” Guilfoyle also suggested, according to the texts, that she should be greenlit for the introduction since she had secured a $3 million donation from Publix supermarket heiress Julie Fancelli.
Key to the committee's probe is understanding the extent to which Trump knew or oversaw the coordination of the “Stop the Steal” rally, and Guilfoyle’s testimony could help illuminate those details.
But if history is any indicator when it comes to those closest to Trump’s inner circle, cooperation is unlikely to be in the cards.
Notably, Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. recently announced their engagement. Trump Jr. said he proposed to Guilfoyle on New Year’s Eve 2020 but the couple has yet to make it official. Questions have bubbled up over whether the marriage would preclude them from testifying against each other in court, but that arena is a gray one and is dependent on a variety of circumstances. There are many exceptions to spousal testimonial privilege when it comes to criminal matters, including an exception for those who are asked to testify about information that occurred before they were ever married.
Also reportedly in the committee’s sights is Trump’s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani has not officially received a subpoena from the panel, but Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told CNN on Wednesday that it wouldn’t be ruled out given his closeness to the former president.
“He’s an integral part of whatever happens,” Thompson said.
Fellow committee member Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, also suggested Giuliani was of interest during a press appearance last November.
Giuliani was allegedly part of a group that met at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., in the runup to Jan. 6. It was there that meetings with ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon and others, like lawyer John Eastman, unfolded. The group reportedly strategized how to overturn the 2020 election.
Giuliani led the charge on Trump’s failed legal challenges to the 2020 election results. On the day of the attack, the former New York mayor giddily suggested to the crowd that there should be “trial by combat” to determine the election results. After the fact Giuliani downplayed his remarks, saying they were a reference to the “documentary” Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones is not a documentary. It was a premium cable show based on a series of fantasy novels featuring mythical dragons, monsters, and witches, among other things.
Meanwhile, the committee has received some cooperation of late from other Trump World officials, including former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
McEnany was subpoenaed in early November and according to Thompson, finally sat for an hours-long remote interview on Jan. 12.
The ex-press secretary regularly repeated Trump’s lies about election fraud during the 2020 race and the committee told her in November that they wanted to question her about her promotion of Trump’s propaganda. The committee also sought information from McEnany about Jan. 6, specifically. McEnany was reportedly in and out of a room where Trump sat watching the riot explode on television.
In addition to McEnany, former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernie Kerik reportedly sat for an interview with the committee on Thursday, according to Kerik’s attorney Timothy Parlatore.
Kerik was an intimate of Giuliani and Trump and according to investigators, he was allegedly responsible for paying for rooms at the Willard Hotel where the former president’s election subversion strategy was discussed.
Kerik, like McEnany, was subpoenaed in November. However, it was not until last month that he agreed to provide the committee with a tranche of records. Kerik also provided the committee with a privilege log, which detailed records that he would not share with investigators, citing executive privilege.
Significantly, one of those documents on the log was entitled, Draft letter from POTUS to seize evidence in the interest of national security for the 2020 election. Kerik has said publicly that the document was created just one day before Trump met with Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, and Giuliani. That document reportedly details how the administration planned to seize election equipment—including voting machines—in battleground states.
There have also been rumblings coming from Stop the Steal movement organizer Alex Bruesewitz. On Wednesday, Bruesewitz claimed on Twitter that the Jan. 6 committee emailed him “twice in 24 hours,” but because he doesn’t recognize the body as “legitimate or constitutional,” he therefore has “no interest in entertaining them,” he wrote.
“Though it would be fun to see Adam Kinzinger cry in person,” he added.
Whether Bruesewitz recognizes the committee’s legitimacy is of little import. Federal courts have found the body to be constitutional and charged with a valid legislative purpose. Bruesewitz’s noncompliance is done at his own legal peril.
A day before the attack, Bruesewitz told Politico there would be retribution for Republican members of Congress who failed to align with Trump
“When we say every Republican that does not stand strong with the president will get a primary challenger, that does not mean we believe that we can beat every single one of them. But what it means is we will make them spend their money. And we will urge their donors to not support them,” Bruesewitz told Politico on Jan. 5.
A representative for the committee did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday, nor did Bruesewitz.
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