The Jan. 6 select committee tasked with investigating the deadly attack on the Capitol is slated to meet virtually with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, with the deposition marking one of the highest-ranking testimonies from a former Trump administration official, a source familiar with the panel confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
Members of the panel are expected to inquire about discussions of invoking the 25th Amendment following the siege, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the building in an effort to disrupt the certification of the election.
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Pompeo was reportedly in negotiations with the select committee over the terms of his testifying in recent weeks.
The decision to call for him to appear before the committee comes on the heels of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former senior aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifying that Pompeo, who served as CIA director before being tapped to head the State Department under former President Donald Trump, called Meadows following the attack to inform him that there were talks of invoking the 25th Amendment, which permits the Cabinet to remove a sitting president.
“From what I understand, it was more of a — this is what I’m hearing, I want you to be aware of it, but I also think it’s worth putting on your radar because you are the chief of staff,” she testified of Pompeo and Meadows. “You’re technically the boss of all the Cabinet secretaries. And you know if the conversations progressed, you should be ready to take action on this.”
Multiple administration officials, aides, and campaign officials including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former Attorney General William Barr, first daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who served as an adviser, have provided closed-door testimony as part of the investigation.
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, a vocal Trump ally, also provided a brief deposition on Tuesday but left 15 minutes into the interview.
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The committee held a series of bombshell public hearings earlier this summer, with members of the panel, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), previously telling reporters they expect to hold additional televised events when the House returns from its August recess.
The panel is expected to unveil a report on its findings in the fall.
