Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania, has provided documents to the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has agreed to sit for a voluntary interview, his attorney told NBC News.
Mastriano's lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told NBC News that we provided everything we found that was not part of his legislative functions. My client has nothing to hide. Parlatore said Mastriano's interview has yet to be scheduled. Politico first reported on his cooperation with the committee investigating the Capitol riot.
Mastriano, currently a Pennsylvania state senator, responded Tuesday to a subpoena issued by the committee in February, which sought information about Mastriano's role in an effort to send so-called alternate electors for then-President Donald Trump to Congress after his 2020 loss.
Mastriano responded to a letter from his lawyer that linked to certain documents and communications in his possession, custody or control. Most of the documents he provided were public social media posts and correspondence, but he thought the package included receipts and a passenger list from buses carrying pro-Trump protesters to Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, which Mastriano had paid for and organized.
Mastriano also sent letters to Congress and the Justice Department urging them to back Trump's efforts to overturn the election or halt its ascertainment in Congress on January 6.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, was in February. The chair of the select committee, the chairman of the committee, wrote to Mastriano that he knew he had knowledge of and participated in a plan to arrange an alternate slate of electors to be presented to the president of the Senate on January 6, 2021, and we understand that you spoke with former President Trump about your post-election activities. Based on your public statements, we understand you were present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and that you saw '' agitators getting in the face of the police and '' agitators start pushing the police up Capitol steps, Thompson, R-Miss. Mastriano, who has campaigned at events alongside QAnon adherents, was himself on restricted Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, just feet away from rioters breaching police barricades, though he has said he left before the riot.
Mastriano, who won the contested mid-May gubernatorial primary by more than 23 points over his closest rival, built his brand and loyal following by doggedly trying to overturn President Joe Biden's win in the critical presidential battleground. Mastriano was endorsed by Trump just days ahead of the election, with his lead increasing in the polls, but other Republicans in the state felt that the candidate presented the party's worst chance of success in the general election against state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
The governor appoints the secretary of state in the fall and will have a big role in overseeing the 2024 presidential election in the critical swing state. Mastriano raised money from false election claims last week, writing in a fundraising appeal that 2020 marked the first time that American's sic voices were not heard.