State senator and current GOP nominee for Pennsylvania Gov. Doug Mastriano, appeared before members of the Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday, according to his attorney Tim Parlatore.
Parlatore first told local NBC affiliate WGAL News 8 that the virtual appearance was short-lived because the panel would not agree to let him record the interview “in its entirety.” CNN reported Mastriano and Parlatore ended the session after less than 15 minutes.
Ahead of the meeting, Mastriano demanded that he be able to record the interview in full, noting that he feared the panel would selectively edit clips of his appearance. That request was denied by the committee Tuesday, Parlatore said. A committee spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
“We appeared this morning after the committee had rejected our attempts to arrange for a voluntary interview. As the committee was unable to commence the deposition in accordance with the House rules, we left, but would be happy to return if the committee is able to comply with the house rules on depositions or if they want to arrange for a voluntary interview,” Parlatore wrote in an email to Daily Kos Tuesday.
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Mastriano’s cooperation is sought by the committee because investigators argue he could shed light on the former president’s fake elector bid. Mastriano in particular led Trump’s push to decertify the results in Pennsylvania. Further, on Jan. 6 he was photographed walking around the Capitol exterior where he reportedly witnessed a barrier being breached.
Mastriano is not charged with any wrongdoing related to Jan. 6 and has already been interviewed by the FBI.
A former Army lieutenant colonel, he condemned the violence that exploded at the Capitol after the fact, but public records show that he so enthusiastically supported Trump’s inciting of voter fraud conspiracy theories that he sent busloads of people to Washington, D.C., for the rally at the Ellipse. More about that here.
He has already produced some of the records related to the chartered buses to the committee, and he has produced a letter he sent to the Justice Department in 2020 alleging voter fraud in his state. Most of the other records Mastriano has produced to the committee through his attorney have been largely worthless. A May production, for instance, mostly contained links to his own already public social media posts about the election.
In addition to Mastriano, the committee also met with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, according to NBC. Investigators wished to question Pompeo about discussions he reportedly had with other Trump Cabinet officials where the prospect of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump post-Jan. 6 was raised.
RELATED STORY: Jan. 6 committee conducting interviews with Trump cabinet officials
This story is developing.
