Exclusive: January 6 committee interested in at least 5 people from Pence’s inner circle
Washington (CNN)The House select committee investigating January 6 is interested in gathering information from at least five members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle, according to three sources familiar with the effort.
Among them is Pence’s former national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, who was subpoenaed by the committee on Tuesday and was with former President Donald Trump most of the day on January 6.
Multiple sources tell CNN that some individuals close to Pence may be willing, either voluntarily or under the guise of a “friendly subpoena,” to provide critical information on how Trump and his allies tried to pressure the former vice president to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, some Pence aides are proving more willing to engage with the committee than previously made public.
Chairman Bennie Thompson confirmed to CNN last week the committee was in the process of reaching out to Pence associates but said their efforts had been met with mixed success.
“Well, yes and no,” Thompson replied when asked if Pence associates had been cooperative. “I don’t want to just say yes, when there have been some people who clearly have said no. So we’ve had, you know, people on both sides.”
Thompson did not reveal the names of any of the people the committee has been in contact with or could reach out to. But sources tell CNN the list consists of several people who are close to Pence, including former chief counsel Greg Jacob and former chief of staff Marc Short. Also of potential interest to the committee, according to a source with knowledge, are Pence’s previous chief of staff Nick Ayers, former legislative affairs director Chris Hodgson,