Mediaboss Marketing

Democrats can be forgiven for having flashbacks when Steve Bannon defied a subpoena to appear before the House committee investigating the origins of the January 6 insurrection, citing executive privilege. That was, after all, the move Donald Trump used for four years to stonewall congressional investigators. So when Bannons lawyer said earlier this month that he wouldnt comply with committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, it was tempting to think: Here we go again.

But things have changed with Trump gone from office. Democrats subpoenas are harder to ignore with the threat of contempt, the charge Bannon is facing. Trump can no longer use executive privilege as the magic words to make his problems go away. And former Trumpworld figures, perhaps seeking to rehabilitate their damaged reputations, have not only mostly complied with Thompsons committee, but have engaged with the panel voluntarily.

CNN reported Tuesday that at least five former Trump staffers have provided information to the committee investigating January 6, either because they believe they have information worth sharing or simply to preempt a potential subpoena. Among those who have come forward: Alyssa Farah, the former Mike Pence spokeswoman who quit as White House communications director in December 2020 because she saw where this was heading. The president and certain advisers around him are directly responsible, she told Politico the day after the Capitol attack.

In addition to those who have voluntarily spoken with the committee, congressional investigators are reaching out to other former White House staffers to solicit compliance. Ive got good reason to believe a number of them are horrified and scandalized by what took place on January 6 and they want to do their legal duty and their civic duty by coming forward to explain exactly what happened, Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin told CNN on Tuesday. Were going to continue to encourage everybody who has relevant information to come and talk.

That engagement, be it voluntary or compelled, already appears to be yielding damning information. Over the weekend, Rolling Stone reported on eye-popping allegations that have been detailed to the committee, including that several House Republicans were intimately involved in planning the January 6 rally and that one, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, suggested Trump would offer organizers a blanket pardon for any trouble that followed. This never materialized, which perhaps explains the feelings of betrayal some rioters have expressed, particularly in the face of major legal consequences. January 6th was a disgrace to our nation that left a scar Trump is ultimately responsible for, one Capitol attack defendant, Thomas Sibick, wrote in a letter to Judge Amy Berman Jackson recently requesting release from jail, claiming he was consumed by the mob mentality. He added, I have vowed to never attend another political protest in my life, that was my first and last!

More is likely on the way: Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark is due to testify next week, and legal scholar John Eastman is expected to be hit with a subpoena. Both were part of Trumps plot to try to overturn his election loss; the latter wrote a memo outlining how Trumps DOJ could go about throwing out the results and undermining the will of the people. Meanwhile, Joe Bidens White House has once again refused to allow Trump to claim executive privilege over records related to January 6, allowing the committee access to more investigative materials. As Axios suggested Wednesday, Bannons failure to cooperate may be an aberration for a committee that actually seems to be chugging along with impressive momentum.

What will ultimately come of it? Its still too early to say. Even the hamstrung Trump-era investigations produced their share of damning revelationsnone of which led to actual accountability in a Washington divided along partisan lines. Those divisions, on Capitol Hill and beyond, havent budged in the last nine months and could still shield Trump and his cronies from consequences. But with a more muscular congressional investigation like the January 6 committee seems to be, there is perhaps reason for Republicans implicated in the findings to be nervous, as suggested by the careful statements by GOP lawmakers named in the Rolling Stone report. I was really busy, Rep. Mo Brooks, who wore body armor to the speech he gave ahead of the riot, told the Montgomery Advertiser, explaining why he couldnt possibly have been part of the planning. I was working on speeches for the House floor debates, he continued, though he added to CNN that while he had no involvement in the insurrection plot, his team may have. I dont know if my staff did, he said. But if they did, Id be proud of them.

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

Mike Pence Is Already Cashing In on His Potential 2024 Run Katie Porter and Her Whiteboard Are Just Getting Started Trumps New Social Media Company Is His Biggest Scam Yet Former Bush Guy Matthew Dowd Is Trying to Turn Texas Blue Joe Manchin Is About to Make Life Worse for His Own Constituents David Zaslav Is Angling to Become Americas King of Content Colin Powells Death Has Officially Been Hijacked by Anti-vaxxers Rigged State Governments Are Steadily Undermining Democracy From the Archive: Rupert Murdochs Tumultuous Third Marriage Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.

The rest is here:
The January 6 Committee Is Finally Getting Trump Allies to Spill - Vanity Fair