National
Former Trump White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin interviewed by federal prosecutors in Jan. 6 probe
(CNN) — Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House communications director during the Trump administration who is now a CNN political commentator, voluntarily met with federal prosecutors in recent weeks, sitting for a formal interview as part of the ongoing special counsel probe related to January 6 and the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The interview was focused primarily on former President Donald Trump, his state of mind and what he knew about the baseless claims of widespread election fraud he was pushing leading up to the January 6 attack, the sources said.
One of the sources told CNN that Farah Griffin was surprised by how much prosecutors were focused on Trump’s mindset after the election.
Prosecutors also asked Farah Griffin about efforts to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election and inquired about the role of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows – who was the one who brought her into the Trump White House – the sources said.
CNN reported this week that Meadows has testified to a federal grand jury as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation and was asked about the former president’s handling of classified documents as well as efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to one source familiar with the matter.
Meadows is viewed as a critical first-hand witness to Smith’s investigation. His testimony could provide investigators key insight into the former president’s actions and mental state following the election he lost to President Joe Biden as well as into Trump’s actions after he left office in January 2021.
Witnesses like Farah Griffin could also help prosecutors by providing first-hand accounts of times Trump seemed to acknowledge he lost the election.
During the interview, which was Farah Griffin’s first with prosecutors working for Smith, she recounted a conversation she previously described to the House Select Committee investigating January 6, where Trump appeared to acknowledge that he lost the presidential election roughly one week after it was called for Biden, one of the sources said.
“I popped into the Oval (Office) just to, like, give the president the headlines and see how he was doing. And he was looking at the TV and he said, ‘Can you believe I loss to this effing guy?’ And then just kind of moved forward. But in that moment I think he knew he lost,” Farah told the House committee, according to a transcript released by the panel.
Farah resigned from her role as White House communications director in December 2020, one month after the election. At the time, she said it was “the honor of a lifetime to serve in the Trump administration.”
But after the insurrection, Farah told CNN Trump lied to the American people about the 2020 presidential election results and said he should “seriously consider” resigning from office.
The Justice Department had previously reached out to Farah Griffin but one of the sources familiar with the matter told CNN the interview took time to schedule and ultimately took place within the last several weeks.
This story has been updated with additional background information.
The-CNN-Wire
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By: Pristine Villarreal
June 7, 2023
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