US: Trump Jr testifies before Congress in Jan 6 Capitol assault probe

The eldest son of former American president Donald Trump has met with the congressional committee investigating the 2021 assault on the Capitol, US media reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

Donald Trump Jr was a top figure in his father’s 2020 re-election campaign and one of the most high-profile spreaders of the defeated leader’s false claims of widespread election fraud.

He was with Trump in the Oval Office before the president’s speech at the January 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally that inflamed a mob that laid siege to the Capitol as lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s victory.

The interview, conducted without a subpoena on Tuesday, was held via video link over around three hours and was cordial, a source told CNN, adding that Trump Jr answered every question and did not assert his Fifth Amendment right to silence.

Trump Jr texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows two days after the election, when the result was still to be determined, with a plan to prevent Biden from being certified as the next president.

The committee has also highlighted a message from the 44-year-old Republican telling Meadows as the insurrection was underway that the then-president had to forcefully condemn the violence.

ALSO READ: