The latest series of subpoenas show the commission’s continued focus, in part, on the organizers and sponsors of the “Stop Theft” protests that took place on January 5 and 6. , as well as earlier protests in the months leading up to the US Congress. attack.
Also subpoenaed on Monday by the committee: Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence, who played a key role in the “Stop the Steal” movement after the election, who the committee noted were engaged to each other.
Stockton was one of the administrators of the “Prevent Stealing” Facebook group that had hundreds of thousands of followers before the group was shut down by the social media company on November 5 – the day after the group This is released. According to the committee’s subpoenaed letter, Stockton helped organize a series of protests following the November 2020 election up to the rally held at the Ellipse in Washington, DC, on January 6. , in support of then-President Trump and his claims of election fraud.
Taylor Budowich, who is now the former President’s chief political spokesman and director of communications for Save America PAC, was the last person to be subpoenaed Monday.
“The Selection Committee is seeking information about the protests and the ensuing march to the Capitol that escalated into a violent mob that attacked the Capitol and threatened our democracy. We need it. know who organized, planned, paid for, and received money in connection with those events, as well as what communications organizers have had with officials in the White House and Congress,” said House of Representatives. Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, who chaired the committee, said in a statement.
“We believe that the witnesses we are convening today have relevant information, and we hope they will cooperate fully with our effort to get answers to the American people about the violence.” January 6,” he added.
The commission is asking five individuals to present the documents by December 6 and has scheduled them for mid-December.
Alex Jones
In the letter to Jones, the committee cited press reports and his own statements to claim that Jones worked with the January 6 rally organizers Cindy Chafian and Caroline Wren, both were all subpoenaed by the selection committee, in “facilitating a sponsor, now known to be Julie Fancelli, to provide what [he] was characterized as “eighty percent” of the funding “for the rally held on the Ellipse on January 6.
The committee stated that Jones was denied speaking at the January 6 rally but his earlier comments indicated he was assigned “to lead a march to the Capitol, where the President Trump will meet the group.” The committee specifically acknowledged that once on Capitol Hill, Jones told people “no violence” and gathered around and waited for Trump to speak. Although Trump has never been to the Capitol, the committee said the location Jones told people to wait “coincided” with the same location where “Stop the Steal” rally organizer Ali Alexander obtained a permit to enter. that day.
Kylie Jane Kremer, executive director of Women for America First, a group that helped organize a series of post-election protests, filed a complaint with DC police, including a rally in the park. south of the White House before the riots at the Capitol. on January 6.
Kremer had previously been subpoenaed by the selection committee.
According to the police report, the threat allegedly occurred outside the Willard InterContinental hotel, located about two blocks from the White House. Willard served as an election-related “command center” for Trump allies around January 6, and the committee has expressed considerable interest in learning more about what’s going on. there at that time.
Taylor Budowich
In its subpoena letter, the committee said Budowich “is alleged to have invited a 501c(4) organization to conduct a social media and radio advertising campaign encouraging attendance at the meeting.” protested the Ellipse on 6 January and made unsupportive statements about the outcome of the election.”
The committee cited information in filings with the panel to state that Budowich directed approximately $200,000 from one source or sources to a 501(c)(4) that was “not disclosed to the organization to pay for the ad campaign.”
Budowich served as a senior adviser to the Trump 2020 campaign, especially working with Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. He is a longtime right-wing political activist, serving as a senior communications adviser to Ron DeSantis during his successful 2018 campaign for governor of Florida and serving as chief executive officer of Tea Party Express. .
The Commission may be particularly interested in Budowich’s connection to Guilfoyle. The former Fox News personality played a large role in the planning and preparation of the January 6 protests. The commission also cited Wren as likely “engaging in the facilitation of the transfer of some or all of those funds” to which the committee claimed Budowich was involved.
CNN has reached out to Budowich for comment.
Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence
In the subpoena letter to Stockton, the committee cited press reports that claimed he was among a group of protest organizers who communicated with Trump and other White House officials, including the Chief of Staff. Trump’s White House room, Mark Meadows, who is in an emerging stalemate. with the committee about his subpoena.
The committee stated that Stockton was among those who alerted the White House to the potential danger of an unapproved march to the Capitol while Congress was certifying the election results, and that Stockton specifically specifically expressed her concerns to Katrina Pierson, a reported former Trump campaign official. involved in organizing the January 5 and January 6 protests, who served as the liaison between the protest organizers and the White House.
The commission said Pierson, who has also been subpoenaed, told Stockton and protest organizer Amy Kremer, who has also been subpoenaed, that she would pass that information on to Meadows.
Stone, Jones, Stockton and Lawrence also have long-standing ties to Trump ally Steve Bannon, who is awaiting trial on contempt charges of congressional charges stemming from his refusal to cooperate with subpoenas. subpoena from the commission.
Stockton and Lawrence released a statement Monday night saying they were expecting a subpoena, but added, “We are concerned that the time is during Thanksgiving week, during most business activity. Normal businesses are closed, further proof that this committee is acting in bad faith.”
“In the months since January 6, we have given extensive face-to-face interviews to many reporters and media because we are committed to getting to the truth about what happened. We remain committed to the truth. That transparency and asking for the opportunity to share their experiences with the public without being contaminated with misinformation has become the norm,” Stockton and Lawrence continued.
Roger Stone
A compilation of the materials provided to the selection committee, Stone’s press reports and statements demonstrate how he not only promoted his appearance at the January 6 “Stop the Steal” event, but also called for donations for it and stated his purpose at the rally was to “lead a march to the Capitol,” according to the jury’s subpoena letter sent to him. The committee added that, according to media reports, Stone used members of the Oath Keepers as personal security guards, some of whom stormed the Capitol and at least At least one person was prosecuted, while he was in Washington.
Stone told CNN affiliate KOKI on Monday night, “I would probably assert my 5th Amendment rights, declining to be interviewed.”
In a statement earlier Monday before the subpoena, Stone called the allegations “clearly false.”
“I have said again and again that I had no prior knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol that day. He spoke, before or at the time, of any unlawful conduct by his any person or group in or around the United States Capitol or anywhere in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, is completely untrue,” he said.
Stone joined the “Stop Stealing” movement that was emerging around the 2020 election. Along with Bannon and Jones, he was one of the most notable voices promoting conspiracy theories in the immediate aftermath. election 2020.
At the time, Stone appeared on Jones’ far-right radio show denouncing baseless claims that Joe Biden was trying to steal the election and Bannon repeating similar conspiracy theories on his podcast. , calling the election “a mass fraud.”
Following the House’s last major investigation into election integrity, following the 2016 election, Stone was convicted in federal court of obstruction of Congress and five lies, about the federal effort contacted WikiLeaks on behalf of the Trump campaign. He gave a more than three-hour interview in 2017 with a Republican-led House committee.
At his criminal trial, which occurred before the Trump administration ended, the Justice Department successfully argued Stone lied to Congress to protect Trump. Trump later pardoned him.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Katelyn Polantz and Giovanna Van Leeuwen contributed to this report.
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