A former House Jan. 6 committee senior technical adviser wrote in his new book on how his relationship soured with his mother after he criticized former President Donald Trump and extreme GOP conspiracy theorists.
Former Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman’s book, titled The Breach, is set to be a tell-all of the committee investigating the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He wrote in his book, obtained by the Hill before its release Tuesday, that his mother texted him that she was “sorry you were ever elected” after he went on CNN to talk about his bill that condemned QAnon.
“What will it take to wake you up son….I love you so, but cannot stand by and listen to your elitist attitude and being praised by elitist journalist and democrats,” Riggleman’s mother is said to have texted him. “You are now part of the swamp…I’m sorry you were ever elected…You are officially a politician … I have cried over you and my heart is broken by you.”
Riggleman’s book has drawn ire from both GOP lawmakers, whom Riggleman renounced when he switched his party status to “unaffiliated,” and current Jan. 6 committee members, who believe the former Virginia representative is sharing too many details about the committee’s inner workings.
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Earlier this year, the staff director for the Jan. 6 panel wrote an email to workers lamenting that Riggleman’s public disclosure of the committee’s methods in interviews was unsettling.
“I want you to know that I am deeply disappointed in his decision to discuss the Select Committee’s work on television,” David Buckley told staffers in an email obtained by Politico. “His specific discussion about the content of subpoenaed records, our contracts, contractors and methodologies, and your hard work is unnerving.”
“That includes any conversation with Denver,” he added. “Your commitment extends beyond your employment by the House as outlined in our handbook.”
Riggleman recently told 60 Minutes in an interview on Saturday that the White House switchboard connected to a phone of a Jan. 6 rioter on the day of the riot.
“I only know one end of that call. I don’t know the White House end, which I believe is more important,” he said in the interview.
A spokesperson for the committee told the TV program in a statement that Riggleman possessed “limited knowledge” about the investigation and the committee members have run down every lead that came from his work.
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Riggleman’s public critique of Trump and right-wing extremists, he wrote, caused his relationship with his devoutly religious and Republican mother to turn negative. They only reconnected when his sister was in poor health, he wrote. He reportedly confirms in his book that he never told his mother about his work on the Jan. 6 committee.
“If I can help even one person turn away from this fringe conspiracy culture or recognize Trump for the un-American grifter that he is, it would make everything worth it,” Riggleman writes. “I’d be especially happy if that one person was my mom.”
