Trump held secret meetings days before Capitol attack: Grisham
An interview with Trump's former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham reveals details about Trump's whereabouts before, during, and after the Capitol attack.
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham provided the House select committee with more details than expected regarding the Capitol attack, which was led by former US President Donald Trump.
Apparently, Trump held secret meetings in the White House days before January 6, according to 2 sources.
Grisham was Melania Trump's chief of staff, and she gave the committee new details about what Trump was doing before the Capitol attack.
Only a few knew of the meetings being held in secret, according to the sources. They were mostly scheduled by Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and the former chief usher, Timothy Harleth, would have participants upstairs.
Harleth is the former director of rooms at the Trump International Hotel before moving to the White House in 2017 when Trump assumed office. Harleth was one of Trump's most trusted employees.
Grisham was not too sure about who Trump met in the White House residence; however, she did put Harleth's name on the table in addition to Trump's other aides, who may have knowledge of the meetings, according to the sources.
On the night before the Capitol attack, Trump made many phone calls from the Yellow Oval Room and other rooms in the White House, calling lieutenants at the Willard Hotel in Washington, telling them to block Biden's certification.
Read more: Trump petitions Supreme Court to prevent Jan 6 data release
Furthermore, Grisham told investigators that Trump's promise to his supporters at the Ellipse rally that he would march with them to the Capitol is significant, as it served as one of the supporters' main motivations to march to the Capitol.
However, Trump never went to the Capitol, but rather sat and watched the attacks on television in the White House, especially after being informed by the Secret Service that they could not ensure his security if he were to march to the Capitol.
Now, the select committee is looking into the matters, trying to decipher whether Trump made a promise which he had no intention of keeping because he wanted to block Biden's certification, according to one of the sources.
A spokesman for the select committee declined to comment on Grisham's interview, and Harleth did not respond to questions concerning the White House meetings.
Trump Jr. begged Mark Meadows to stop the riots
Text messages to then-White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, reveal that Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., pleaded his father to urge rioters at the Capitol on January 6 to evacuate the complex.
US lawmaker Liz Cheney, the vice-chair of the committee investigating if the former president had prior knowledge of the riot, disclosed some of the text messages.
“We need an Oval Office address,” Trump Jr. texted Meadows, Cheney said, adding that the younger Trump had messaged the chief of staff “again and again.”
“He’s got to condemn this s**t ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough,” Trump Jr. said in another text message.
A trio of Fox News hosts and Republican members of Congress have also pleaded with him. One Republican member of Congress texted Meadows that day, “It is really bad up here on the hill.”
Another wrote, “The president needs to stop this ASAP.”
The third text from a GOP member texted, “Fix this now.”
On his account, Meadows responded, “I’m pushing it hard. I agree.”
The House is set to vote on whether Meadows should be charged with a crime for failing to appear for a deposition with the select committee investigating the January 6 attack.