Trump White House counsel Cipollone testifies before Jan. 6 committee
Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone appeared on Capitol Hill Friday morning for a closed-door interview with House Jan. 6 committee investigators after negotiations over what he could be questioned about.
His testimony will be videotaped and it's expected that clips of Cipollone's deposition will be presented during the committee's upcoming public hearings, according to sources familiar with the planning.
Cipollone and the committee, according to sources, have agreed he can be asked about what he knows about the actions taken by former top Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark to use the powers of the Justice Department to attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, what Cipollone did during the day of Jan. 6, and interactions he was present for or had with former Trump lawyer John Eastman as well as interactions he was present for or had with members of Congress following the 2020 election.
The questioning on those topics is expected to exclude conversations he had directly with former President Donald Trump.
Sources close to Cipollone told ABC News it is possible he may claim some form of executive privilege, which sources familiar with the negotiations say is not expected to be challenged by committee investigators.
Committee investigators may also ask Cipollone about other topics, sources said.
Cipollone, appearing under subpoena, has been one of the panel's most sought-after witnesses following last week's testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Mark Meadows, Trump's fourth and final White House chief of staff.
Hutchinson told the panel that Cipollone was fearful of the consequences of Trump's push to march with his supporters on Jan. 6 from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where Congress was working to certify the 2020 Electoral College results.
"Mr. Cipollone said something to the effect of, 'Please make sure we don't go up to the Capitol, Cassidy, keep in touch with me. We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen,'" Hutchinson testified.
During the attack on the Capitol, Hutchinson also said Cipollone was pushing for Trump to make some kind of statement to help end the violence.
"Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your f------ hands," Cipollone told Meadows, according to Hutchinson's testimony.
On Wednesday, Trump complained about Cipillone agreeing to an interview on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Why would a future President of the United States want to have candid and important conversations with his White House Counsel if he thought there was even a small chance that this person, essentially acting as a 'lawyer' for the Country, may some day be brought before a partisan and openly hostile Committee in Congress, or even a fair and reasonable Committee, to reveal the inner secrets of foreign policy or other important matters," Trump wrote. "So bad for the USA!"
