WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s former White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, spent roughly seven hours Friday giving closed-door testimony before the House committee investigating last year’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Cipollone arrived before 10 a.m. and left at 5:15 p.m., taking periodic breaks. He departed through a garage without making any statement. His attorneys and the committee had no immediate comment.
The session took place in a government office building less than a quarter-mile from the Capitol.
The committee wanted Cipollone’s firsthand accounts about a range of activities involving the former president and his inner circle before and during the Jan. 6 riot, including legal and other concerns he raised.
Cipollone sat previously for an informal private interview by the panel, but declined to go on the record or even discuss some topics based on claims of executive or attorney-client privilege.
But the committee ordered him last week to appear under subpoena. It was unclear whether Cipollone and the committee had agreed to limits on questions.
Cipollone has been mentioned often in other witness testimony. For instance, he has been described as advising against schemes to block certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
He also warned “we’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable” if Trump joined riotous supporters marching to the Capitol Jan. 6, former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson testified publicly last week.
