According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 20th, two people familiar with the matter revealed that stephanie Grisham, the former White House press secretary, told the House Special Committee investigating the riots on Capitol Hill that Trump had held a secret meeting at the White House presidential residence a few days before January 6.
Stephanie Grisham Source: Foreign media
Sources said Grisham told House investigators that details about whether Trump had intentions to storm the Capitol after his public rally speech that day would be recorded in documents provided to the U.S. Secret Service.
The source also said the outcome of the House Special Committee's interview with Grisham was more meaningful than expected, and she outlined to House investigators the chaos in the White House in the days leading up to the Capitol Hill riots and recalled several informal meetings Trump held at the White House presidential residence.
Sources noted that these secret meetings were apparently known only to a handful of aides. Mr. Grisham said the meetings were largely arranged by Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, and Timothy Harleth, a former White House chief receptionist, waved for attendees to go upstairs. According to a former senior aide of Melania Trump, Harleys was the head of the Trump International Hotel and joined the White House with the Trump family in 2017, and he was one of the Trump family's most trusted White House employees.
Grisham told the House Special Committee that she wasn't sure who Trump met at the presidential residence, but provided Harles' name, as well as the names of other Trump aides who might have known about those meetings, the sources said.
A spokesman for the House Special Committee declined to comment on Grisham's interview. Harles also did not respond to the issue.
The Guardian notes that Trump's own intention to storm the Capitol has become a key concern for the Houses Special Committee. The commission is investigating whether Trump presided over a criminal conspiracy to coordinate the unrest that sought to block the presidential election results certification process.
Trump Image source: People's Vision
But Trump himself did not go to Capitol Hill that day, but returned to the White House, where he watched the riots on television. Earlier, the U.S. Secret Service told him that if he went to the Capitol, his safety would not be guaranteed.
One of the sources said the committee was currently trying to figure out whether Trump had made false promises he had no intention of giving on because he wanted to incite a rebellion to block the certification process, which at the time was his only chance of getting re-elected.
Multiple sources said Grisham told the Special Committee that Trump's intentions and whether the Secret Service was told that Trump's decision not to go to the Capitol should be reflected in secret service documents about the president's activities at every moment.
Special Committee Chair Bennie Thompson told reporters the committee had sought information from the Secret Service about the plans they had developed for Trump on Jan. 6 and the evacuation plans they had implemented for then-Vice President Mike Pence.
(Editor: ZLQ)