Pence explains why he disobeyed a Trump order 0:53
Washington (CNN) -
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan.6 attack 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 commission on Tuesday and was with former President Donald Trump for most of the day on Jan. 6.
Multiple sources tell CNN that some people close to Pence may be willing, either voluntarily or under the guise of a "friendly subpoena," to provide critical information about how Trump and his allies tried to pressure the former vice president to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.
Pence explains why he disobeyed a Trump order 0:53
According to sources familiar with the discussions, some Pence advisers are showing more willingness to collaborate with the commission than has previously been made public.
Commission chair Bennie Thompson confirmed to CNN last week that the commission was in the process of contacting Pence associates, but said its efforts had not been entirely successful.
"Well, yes and no," Thompson responded when asked if Pence's associates had cooperated.
"I don't just mean yes, when there have been some people who have clearly said no. So we've had, you know, people from both sides."
Thompson did not disclose the names of any of the people the commission has been in contact with or may contact.
But sources tell CNN that the list is made up of several people close to Pence, including former chief adviser Greg Jacob and former chief of staff Marc Short.
Also of potential interest to the commission, according to a knowledgeable source, are Pence's former chief of staff Nick Ayers, former director of legislative affairs Chris Hodgson, political adviser Marty Obst and former special adviser Zach Bauer.
advertising
Additionally, former Pence press secretary and Trump communications adviser Alyssa Farah, who left the administration in early December 2020, has voluntarily met with Republicans from the House Select Committee and provided information, CNN reported last month.
Jacob, Hodgson, Ayers and Bauer did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Kellogg and Short declined to comment.
In an email, Obst told CNN that he has had "no contact with the January 6 commission as of now and no one has contacted me."
On Tuesday night, a federal judge denied Trump's attempts to withhold the commission's records, dealing a blunt blow to the former president's efforts to keep more than 700 pages of documents from his White House secret.
Although Trump's legal team says it intends to appeal, the ruling raises questions about its ability to prevent Pence's advisers from helping the commission.
Judge dismisses Trump's attempt to prevent access to records on January 6
Crucial witnesses
Kellogg became the first person from Pence's inner circle to be subpoenaed by the commission on Tuesday.
In its letter to Kellogg, the commission specifically expressed interest in learning more about at least one January 2021 meeting with Trump and White House attorney Pat Cipollone, during which Trump insisted that Pence not certify the election.
The commission also stated that Kellogg was in the White House on January 6 while the attack was unfolding and has "direct information" on "Trump's statements and reactions to the Capitol uprising."
While Kellogg served as Pence's National Security Advisor, he is considered a key witness due to his closeness to Trump on January 6.
Robert O'Brien, the then-National Security Advisor to the former president, was out of town that day.
According to sources who spoke to CNN, Jacob has also emerged as a person of great interest to the commission.
As Pence's general counsel, Jacob played a key role in countering efforts to persuade the former vice president not to certify the election results.
Mike Pence contradicts Trump on January 6, calling plan to decertify 2020 election "anti-American"
Jacob was part of the Pence team that opposed John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who espoused extreme legal theories about the vice president's ability to override the election.
The commission has long viewed Jacob as a potential witness to the events in its investigation.
But it gained greater prominence following a report by The Washington Post, confirmed by CNN, according to which Eastman, who was advising Trump, sent Jacob an email during the riots in which he blamed Pence for provoking the violence on Capitol Hill. from the United States.
Seeking the cooperation of Jacob, as well as others close to Pence, underscores the commission's interest in learning more about any pressure related to blocking the certification of election results.
"There was very clearly a plan on the side of the political coup to mobilize a campaign for Mike Pence to block the certification of electoral college votes," Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the select commission, told CNN.
Eastman's activities are perfectly clear at this point. He was the architect of the legal strategy to claim for the first time in American history that the vice president had the unilateral authority to reject electoral college votes that were the result of popular elections, "Raskin said, adding that Eastman is" obviously a figure of strong interest to the select commission on January 6. "
Jacob could provide a first-hand account of Eastman's role in that effort.
Eastman was subpoenaed by the commission on Monday.
A tense political path
The commission's work presents a major political challenge for Pence as he attempts to carve his way away from Trump, raising money and building a team for a possible White House bid in 2024.
Although Pence has defended his refusal to delay the counting of electoral votes on January 6, people close to him have recognized the danger of collaborating too openly with the commission, which many Republicans have called partisan.
The commission's interest in some of Pence's closest allies and the question of how cooperative those advisers can complicate an already winding political path for the former vice president.
Pence needs to keep his distance from Trump's fight to annul the election, while cultivating his ties to the former president's base.
ANALYSIS |
Did Mike Pence ruin his nomination chances for 2024?
Plus, there's the question of whether Trump himself could run for president again.
People close to Pence have told CNN that the former vice president, once known for his unwavering loyalty, will not wait to see what Trump decides.
The events of January 6 continue to be a source of division between the former vice president and Trump's most loyal supporters within the Republican Party.
Hostility toward the commission among many Republicans and conservative media means Pence has to be careful, said David Kochel, a Republican political operator from Iowa.
"Pence has to figure out how to defend his own actions to follow the Constitution and at the same time not touch that tripwire," Kochel said.
Pence has repeatedly reaffirmed his decision to certify the electoral count since leaving office, saying his actions were constitutional.
He has even called the effort to overturn the 2020 election results "anti-American."
And when asked at an event in Iowa last week who "told him to scrap President Trump's plan" on January 6, Pence bluntly replied, "James Madison."
- CNN's Ryan Nobles, Paula Reid and Alex Marquardt contributed to this report.
Attack on the Capitol