Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, participated in the Department of Justice's grand jury investigation for the Jan. 6, 2021 unrest at the Capitol last week, citing various news reports.
According to Yahoo! News, Short's grand jury appearance had been the culmination of a formal subpoena to testify.
It also means that Short became the highest-ranking official from the Trump White House to address the Jan. 6 grand jury. Prior to Short's appearance, former Pence legal counsel Greg Jacob held that distinction.
Six months ago, Short also spoke to the House select committee for Jan. 6, a nine-member panel (comprised of seven Democrats, two Republicans) that holds no formal judicial power.
For that appearance, Short reportedly relayed the discussions between VP Pence and former President Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 incident.
During Friday's testimony, the Wall Street Journal reports that grand jury investigators pressed Short on a Jan. 4, 2021 meeting at the White House, when lawyer John Eastman allegedly prodded Pence to either "reject the electoral votes outright" to the 2020 presidential election, or suspend the proceedings and subsequently request the various state legislatures to re-examine the final results.
"There is a lot of speculation about what the Justice Department is doing, what it's not doing, what our theories are and what our theories aren't, and there will continue to be that speculation," Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week.
"We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism," Garland added.
Citing the Journal's reporting, "more than 850 people" have been charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 events, including a large number of civilian protesters.
ABC News, which first captured Short's appearance outside a Washington D.C. courthouse last week, reports that other grand jury subpoenas have been sent out to those who were involved in the planning of the Jan. 6, 2021 "Save America" rally near the White House.
It's believed to be the same event in which President Trump publicly encouraged the rallygoers to "peacefully and patriotically" approach the Capitol — a statement which has yet to be materially presented during the House's Jan. 6 hearings.
Investigators have reportedly collected numerous texts, emails, and other documents connected to that rally.
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