The committee probing the Jan. 6th Capitol riot met with former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday after subpoenaing the aide who cited 'very real claims of fraud' at a post-election press conference.
The former press secretary spoke virtually to the panel, following her November subpoena.
That subpoena cited repots that McEnany spent time with former President Donald Trump during a critical period after the Capitol riot began but when the president did not make a public statement for 187 minutes.
McEnany did not appear during Wednesday's broadcast of 'Outnumber' on Fox News, where she is a co-host.
Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who last briefed the press on Jan. 7th, met virtually with the House select committee probing the Jan. 6th Capitol riot
Committee members say they have interviewed more than 300 people in the probe. It is not known how many were permitted to appear virtually. Some high-profile witnesses, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon, are resisting subpoenas and fighting them in court.
Panel Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson told CBS about her appearance, and the panel subsequently confirmed her appearance to the AP.
The committee got the chance to question McEnany about the riot – something reporters didn't get the chance to do during her final briefing for the press, on Jan. 7th.
At that event, McEnany read a statement of less than two minutes, saying the violence at the Capitol was 'appalling, reprehensible, and antithetical to the American way' – only to leave without taking questions from reporters who tried to yell them out to her.
McEnany was absent from 'Outnumbered' on Fox Wednesday afternoon
Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary, right, listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as he visits campaign workers at the RNC Annex in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. A subpoena cited reports McEnany was with Trump on Jan. 6th
The House Jan. 6 Committee subpoenaed McEnany in November
The panel subpoena told McEnany: 'You claimed that there were "very real claims" of fraud that the former president's re-election campaign was pursuing, and said that mail-in voting was one that 'we have identified as being particularly prone to fraud."'
'At another press conference, Ms. McEnany accused Democrats of “welcoming fraud” and “welcoming illegal voting.” In addition, Ms. McEnany was reportedly present at times with the former President as he watched the January 6th attack,' the panel said.
The panel has also sought records from McEnany's briefing books from the National Archives. The document request is tied up in a court fight.
News of her appearance came on a day when lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol asked Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday to voluntarily answer questions about former President Donald Trump's actions on the day of the violence.
In its request, the House select committee said McCarthy had previously described a 'very heated conversation' with the president as the bloody events unfolded.
And it pointed to media reports that he also told other
