Trump attempted to call White House support staff member in talks with Jan. 6 panel, source says

Former President Donald Trump tried to call a member of the White House support staff who was talking to the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, a source familiar told NBC news Wednesday.

CNN first reported that the witness works at the White House.

The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., asserted Tuesday that Trump tried to call a witness involved in the committee’s investigation but did not identify the individual.

She described the recipient of Trump’s attempted call as someone “you have not yet seen in these hearings.”

“That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump’s call, and instead alerted their lawyer to the call. Their lawyer alerted us,” Cheney said.

The panel alerted the Department of Justice, she added.

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich on Tuesday, when asked to comment on the alleged call, instead pointed to one of his tweets earlier that day criticizing Cheney, the committee and the media.

The committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters earlier Wednesday that the Justice Department would determine whether there was any illegal conduct.

“You know, we are concerned obviously about the witness. And we’re not going to put that witness in unnecessary jeopardy,” Thompson, D-Miss., said a day after the panel first revealed the alleged call.