Prosecutors interview The View star and former Trump employee Alyssa Farah Griffin in Jan. 6 probe
The View cohost, CNN political commentator, and former Donald Trump associate Alyssa Farah Griffin was interviewed by federal prosecutors in a probe into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
According to CNN, where Griffin works as an on-air personality, the 33-year-old former White House communications director voluntarily met with prosecutors investigating the attack on the United States Capitol building that resulted in five deaths, national outrage, and allegations that the outgoing president's words at a political rally in Washington, D.C. encouraged the incident. EW has confirmed with a source close to Griffin that she met with prosecutors for the interview this year.
The network reported that "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," adding that Griffin's input could "help prosecutors by providing first-hand accounts of times Trump seemed to acknowledge he lost the election."
WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVES; Lou Rocco/ABC/Getty Alyssa Farah Griffin and Donald Trump.
The news comes after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows "testified to a federal grand jury as part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation," which CNN reported included questions about the former president's treatment of classified documents and the results of the 2020 election.
According to a transcript from Griffin's 2022 interview with the Jan. 6 committee, she recounted the atmosphere at the White House surrounding Trump's attitude about losing the 2020 election, even though he consistently riled his base to refute the results of the nationwide vote that led to Joe Biden's presidency.
"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 l loss [sic] to this effing guy?' And then just kind of moved forward. But in that moment I think he knew he lost, but I believe now, I think he thinks it was stolen from him," she said. "I think there's a level of delusion, of confirmation bias, of surrounding himself by only information that matches what he wants to hear and believe. And I really do think he believes it was stolen. I think many people around him do as well."
EW has reached out to CNN and a representative for The View for additional comment.
Before resigning from Trump's press team in December 2020, Griffin worked as a press secretary for former Vice President Mike Pence from 2017 to 2019, and ultimately denounced the insurrection and urged Trump to put a stop to it.
Condemn this now, @realDonaldTrump - you are the only one they will listen to. For our country!
— Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) January 6, 2021
"Condemn this now," she tweeted as the insurrection went on. "You are the only one they will listen to. For our country!"
Since leaving her post in politics, Griffin launched a TV career, becoming a regular CNN commentator and, alongside fellow Republican Ana Navarro, ultimately replaced Meghan McCain's vacant right-wing seat on ABC's popular daytime talk show The View in September 2022.
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