By Lucas Miller-
Stephen Miller, who served as a top aide to former US President Donald Trump, appeared virtually today before a congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Miller was a senior adviser for policy during the Trump administration, who was integral to many decisive policies. He was also White House director of speechwriting to President Donald Trump.
His appearance has been seen as a positive outcome for investigators who were uncertain whether he would show up at all, given his past resistance to subpoenas.
He has previously resisted subpoenas by the committee, including by suing to block the committee from forcing him to hand over documents and appear for an interview. In their subpoena of Miller, the committee specifically cited the role he played in sharing false claims of voter fraud related to the 2020 election.
The House committee is planning to launch a series of public hearings to lay out its findings beginning as soon as late April, according to committee members have said.
Miller was a very close ally of Trump throughout the duration of his administration who was extremely loyal and largely seen as the mastermind behind many of the former U.S president’s policies.
He was also an extremist known for his white nationalist and far-right views, very influential in Trump’s narrow circle of political ideologists.
Prosecutors said Miller had “by his own account participated in efforts to spread false information about alleged voter fraud” and encouraged “state legislatures to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by appointing alternate electors”, the committee said when he was subpoenaed.
Representative Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the panel, said Miller helped prepare Trump’s remarks for a rally on the Ellipse that preceded the January 6 insurrection and was with Trump when he spoke.
The House voted last week to hold former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt for their months-long refusal to comply with subpoenas.
House investigators are hoping to do is fill in gaps surrounding Trump’s alleged role in the attack on the US Capitol.
The panel is examining every aspect of the riot, including what Trump was doing when it unfolded and any connections between the White House and the Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol building.
The inquiry has also looked into an illegal scheme allegedly pushed by Trump and his supporters to put forward fake electors to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral college.
Miller and his team also helped prepare for Trump’s remarks at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, prior to the riot, was at the White House that day, and was with the President when he spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally, the committee added.
The former adviser is the latest senior Trump official to appear before the committee. Ivanka Trump, the former President’s daughter and former senior adviser, sat for an hours-long interview in recent weeks. Her husband, Jared Kushner, also voluntarily appeared before the committee.
On Wednesday, President Biden authorized the release of an additional batch of records of Trump’s presidency from the National Archives to the committee.