WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection delayed publishing its final report Wednesday, but provided new details with the release of 34 transcripts of depositions taken during its investigation.
Many of the released transcripts are from lesser-known figures who played behind-the-scenes roles in the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election, though the list includes some of the biggest names involved, such as California attorney John Eastman, the architect of the legal theory embraced by Trump positing that the vice president could reject certain states’ electors.
Nearly all pleaded the Fifth Amendment at some point throughout their testimony in response to questions asked by committee members and staff, showing what information the panel hoped to learn and what dots they were trying to connect. For example, the committee asked Trump confidant Roger Stone whether he discussed Jan. 6 and strategies heading into that day during a Dec. 27, 2020, meeting with Trump at the former president’s Florida home.
