Ben Williamson, a top aide to ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, spent between six and seven hours Tuesday speaking virtually to ...
Ben Williamson, a top aide to ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, spent between six and seven hours Tuesday speaking virtually to members of the January 6 committee.
CNN reported that Williamson went ahead with an interview and didn't invoke his Fifth Amendment right - while Meadows declined the cooperate any further, meaning he could be held in contempt of Congress.
CNN also reported that Williamson's testimony covered the story behind former President Donald Trump's video address encouraging rioters to leave the Capitol hours after the start of the attack.
It also detailed Meadows' conversations with Trump and members of Congress.
Williamson was among the officials with 'close ties' to Trump subpoenaed by the committee on November 9.
Ben Williamson (right) spent between six and seven hours speaking virtually to members of the January 6 committee, who want to know about some of the communications Williamson's boss, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (right), was having
Williamson was subpoenaed by the Democrat-led committee in early November alongside a number of aides of former President Donald Trump about the January 6 Capitol attack (pictured)
The original subpoena had requested Williamson sit for a deposition on December 2.
The subpoena noted that Williamson, a deputy assistant to the president and a senior adviser to Meadows, was reportedly contacted by former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah amid the attack.
Farah urged Williamson and Meadows to have Trump issue a statement condemning the violence.
In the letter seeking information from Ivanka Trump, another text message conversation with Williamson is cited.
'Is someone getting to POTUS? He has to tell protesters to dissipate. Someone is going to get killed,' read one text, which Farah said came from her.
A response from a 'White House staff member,' which CNN confirmed to be Williamson, read: 'I've been trying for the last 30 minutes. Literally stormed in outer oval to get him to put out the first one. It's completely insane.'
The subpoena also said that Williamson might be able to offer testimony on Meadows' communications with Georgia election officials, organizers of the January 6 'stop the steal' rally that preceded the Capitol attack, Department of Justice officials with whom voter fraud was discussed and federal officials the chief of staff might have reached out to during the storming of the Capitol.
Williamson was subpoenaed alongside former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump's top immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, among others.
Meadows had turned over a number of text messages and documents before reversing course and announcing he would not cooperate with the Democrat-led select committee.
Among those text messages was one Farah said belonged to her.
'You guys have to say something. Even if the president's not willing to put out a statement, you should go to the [cameras] and say, "We condemn this. Please stand down." If you don't, people are going to die,' she warned.
Speaking to CNN's Michael Smerconish Farah said, 'that is my text.'
She said it was 'horrifying' because it was about an 'hour before Ashli Babbitt died and it was a few hours before we learned that Officer Sicknick died.'
'There was a window where people of good conscience could have spoken up and stopped the violence,' she noted.
Farah also told Smerconish she was surprised Meadows wouldn't play ball with the committee.
'I'm stunned that he's not cooperating,' she said. 'It's never too late to do the right thing.'
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