The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol is now preparing to subpoena Kimberly Guilfoyle after a heated disagreement when she sat down for a voluntary interview with the panel.
Guilfoyle, fiancee to Donald Trump Jr., worked on former President Trump’s reelection campaign and also spoke at the Jan. 6 rally after which his supporters marched to the Capitol.
She confirmed the first interview in a Friday statement, bashing the panel for allegedly “leaking” her appearance.
“Ms. Guilfoyle, under threat of subpoena, agreed to meet exclusively with counsel for the select committee in a good faith effort to provide true and relevant evidence,” Guilfoyle attorney Joseph Tacopina said in a statement.
But Tacopina said members of the committee also attended the interview, accusing Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and others of “hijacking the interview.”
Though lawmakers have sat in on a number of interviews, that led to a pause in the conversation as Guilfoyle’s team protested, they said, adding that their concerns were “validated” after news of her interview was leaked to the media “within less than two minutes.”
The panel shot back Friday afternoon, indicating they would now need to compel her testimony.
“Ms. Guilfoyle has information of interest to the Select Committee and has provided documents germane to our investigation. The Select Committee had hoped she would do as dozens of other witnesses have done: participate in a voluntary transcribed interview with staff and committee members,” a panel spokesperson said in a statement.
“Ms. Guilfoyle has now declined to do so, forcing the Select Committee to compel her testimony at an upcoming deposition.”
NBC News was the first to report Guilfoyle’s meeting with the committee.
The committee has already subpoenaed and obtained Guilfoyle’s phone records, which it sought alongside phone records for Eric Trump, but it had never formally subpoenaed her or publicly asked for her cooperation as it worked towards reaching those in Trump’s inner circle.
The panel has also asked Ivanka Trump to appear before the committee. The former president’s daughter and White House adviser is reportedly in talks with the committee to schedule a voluntary appearance.
—Updated at 2:40 p.m.