A House panel investigating the insurrection against the Capitol issued three subpoenas Tuesday, and the interesting part here is that two were issued to a pair of Republican strategists who have close ties to Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, MarketWatch [1] reports.
The panel’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, issued subpoenas to Andy Surabian and Arthur Schwartz strategists who advised Trump Jr. A third subpoena was issued to Ross Worthington, a former White House and Trump campaign staffer, who according to the panel, helped draft [2] then-president Donald Trump’s speech at the rally that preceded the siege.
“We have reason to believe the individuals we’ve subpoenaed today have relevant information and we expect them to join the more than 340 individuals who have spoken with the Select Committee as we push ahead to investigate this attack on our democracy and ensure nothing like this ever happens again,” Thompson said in a letter Tuesday.
Worthington formerly worked in the Trump administration and served as a campaign aide, speechwriter, and policy adviser. He also previously worked for former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is, of course, a Trump crony.
GOP strategist Surabian has worked with former President Donald Trump’s eldest son Don Jr., former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and others within Trump’s circle. The committee is alleging that Surabian and Schwartz, another strategist who’s worked with Junior and Bannon, communicated with Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle specifically about the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse.
As can be expected, there’s the usual excuse-making as an attorney representing Surabian said his client will cooperate with the panel “within reason.” However, the attorney added he doesn’t understand why the subpoena was issued, to begin with.
“He had nothing at all to do with the events that took place at the Capitol that day, zero involvement in organizing the rally that preceded it and was off the payroll of the Trump campaign as of November 15, 2020,” said Daniel Bean, the attorney representing Surabian, in a statement.
Well here’s my question: Since this is apparently the case, why is Bean even concerned about his client talking to the committee?
When reached by the Associated Press Tuesday, Schwartz offered no comment and Worthington didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment, MarketWatch reports.
The world knows how much Trump was pushing at the time, repeatedly and falsely complaining about widespread voter fraud and pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence and congressional GOP members to try to overturn the count during the Jan. 6 congressional certification. Trump has pulled out every stop he can think of and has been repeatedly and forcefully repudiated by election officials and courts across the country. All have dismissed his claims.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out for Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle. It certainly looks like the situation is closing in increasingly.