Stephen Miller meets virtually with January 6 committee
Senior adviser to then-President Donald Trump Stephen Miller watches as then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks during the daily White House press briefing in March 2017 in Washington
By Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer, Zachary Cohen and Pamela Brown, CNN
Former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller on Thursday testified virtually for roughly eight hours before the House select committee investigating the US Capitol insurrection, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
“It got a little chippy,” the source said, suggesting Miller was at times a difficult witness. Some executive privilege issues came up during the meeting, the source added.
Miller is under subpoena by the committee and had resisted attempts to appear, including by suing to block the committee from forcing him to hand over documents and meet for an interview. In its subpoena of Miller, the committee cited the role he had played in sharing false claims of voter fraud related to the 2020 election.
The Associated Press first reported on Miller’s planned testimony. The committee declined to comment.
The interview comes after two Trump White House lawyers appeared before the committee: former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy Patrick Philbin. A source told CNN that former President Donald Trump authorized Cipollone’s testimony to the panel. Cipollone is a key player in the 2020 election saga because he pushed back against some of Trump’s more egregious attempts to overturn the results.
Miller is among the former Trump officials who could provide the committee with details about what was happening inside the White House on, and leading up to, January 6, 2021.
In its subpoena letter to Miller late last year, the committee noted that he, by his own account, “participated in efforts to spread false information about alleged voter fraud in the November 2020 election, as well as efforts to encourage state legislatures to alter the outcome of the November 2020 election by appointing alternate slates of electors.”
Miller and his team also helped prepare for Trump’s remarks prior to the riot at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, had been at the White House that day and was with the President when he spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally, the committee added.
Miller is just the latest senior Trump official to appear before the committee. Ivanka Trump, the former President’s daughter and former senior adviser, sat for an hours-long interview in recent weeks. Her husband, Jared Kushner, also voluntarily appeared before the committee.
This headline and story have been updated with additional reporting Thursday.
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CNN’s Sara Murray contributed to this report.
