Trump Jr meets with Jan. 6 committee investigating riot

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Trump Jr meets with Jan. 6 committee investigating riot

Two people familiar with the matter said Donald Trump's oldest son has met with the congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection.

The bipartisan House committee moves closer to the former president's inner circle of family members and political advisers after Tuesday's interview with Donald Trump JrTrump Jr.

The committee is interested in the younger Trump because of his proximity to his father on the day of the riot. Donald Trump JrTrump Jr was seen at the rally on the White House Ellipse that took place shortly before supporters of the then-president marched to the Capitol and breached the building.

In several social media videos posted at the time of the January 6 attack, Trump Jr was seen with Kimberly Guilfoyle then his girlfriend, now his fiancee and other members of his family as he prepared to make a speech that investigators believed rallied supporters to act violently that day.

The House committee has released text messages from January 6th, 2021 in which Trump Jr pleaded with the White House to forcefully condemn the riot.

We need an Oval address. He has to lead now. Trump Jr wrote to Mark Meadows, then the White House chief of staff, saying it had gone too far and gotten out of hand.

Trump Jr is one of nearly 1,000 witnesses that the committee has interviewed as it works to compile a record of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries. He is the second of Trump's children known to speak to the committee, Ivanka Trump sat down with lawmakers for eight hours in early April. The committee also interviewed her husband, Jared Kushner.

Other allies of the former president have been referred to the justice department for possible prosecution on contempt of Congress charges because of subpoenas from the committee. One of them, Stephen Bannon, was indicted last year after he refused to cooperate. That case is pending.

The committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans is looking to wrap up its nearly 11 month investigation and move into the public hearing phase. The hearings are scheduled to begin on June 9 and last for four weeks. The lawmakers expect to bring out witnesses and present evidence in an effort to educate the public about the full scope of the attack and Donald Trump's role in it.

Trump Jr is no stranger to congressional investigations, having testified at least three times in House and Senate investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The two people who confirmed Trump Jr's interview were granted anonymity to discuss the private session, which was not announced by the committee.