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Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée

The committee says Guilfoyle had close communication with former President Trump hours before the Capitol insurrection and helped fund the “Stop the Steal” rally.

WASHINGTON (CN) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has subpoenaed Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host, Trump campaign aide and current fiancée of Donald Trump Jr.

The formal call for testimony and documents from Guilfoyle comes after she failed to complete a voluntary interview with the panel on Feb. 25.

"Because Ms. Guilfoyle backed out of her original commitment to provide a voluntary interview, we are issuing today's subpoena that will compel her to testify. We expect her to comply with the law and cooperate," Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said in a statement.

According to the subpoena, Guilfoyle met with then-President Donald Trump and members of his family inside the Oval Office on Jan. 6, 2021, around the time that Trump had his last phone call with Vice President Mike Pence before Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 election.

Guilfoyle then spoke at the "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse that preceded the U.S. Capitol insurrection, espousing Trump's false claims of election fraud. 

It was on that stage that Guilfoyle told a crowd of Trump supporters, "We will not allow the liberals and the Democrats to steal our dream or steal our elections." 

She also "played a key role organizing and raising funds for that event," per the committee. 

When originally called on to voluntarily turn over documents to the panel she "produced only 110 pages in response to 14 document requests," according to the subpoena.

At the time of her initial interview with the committee, Guilfoyle shared a statement from her attorney on Twitter, saying that she had agreed to meet with the committee's counsel under threat of a subpoena, but that the meeting took a turn when lawmakers on the committee were present and asked questions. 

"The Committee revealed its untrustworthiness as members notorious for leaking appeared," the statement from Joseph Tacopina, Guilfoyle's counsel, read.

The statement accused members of the committee, including Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, of "hijacking the interview."

"While Ms. Guilfoyle had hoped the Committee wanted to act in good faith and find the truth, it is now abundantly clear to us that tier only real interest was to sandbag our client and use today's interview as a political weapon against President Trump and those who support him," the statement went on.

Thompson and the committee refuted Guilfoyle's claims, stating that she was aware going into the meeting that lawmakers on the panel would be there.

"Staff had in fact communicated to your attorneys that Members would be present, but nevertheless offered to reschedule the interview. You declined," the subpoena states.

The call for information from Guilfoyle is the latest attempt by the committee to dig into those who were closest to Trump in the days and hours leading up to the insurrection.

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Categories / Government, National, Politics

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