By John L. Micek | Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Credit: Facebook/Screenshot
Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano has shared documents, and agreed to an interview, with the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to a published report.
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The Franklin County state senator’s cooperation came to light after Politico obtained a submission that includes documents about Mastriano busing pro-Trump protesters to Washington D.C., the online news outlet reported Thursday.
The panel subpoenaed Mastriano in February, the Capital-Star previously reported.
Mastriano, an ally of former President Donald Trump attended the “Save America” rally, the morning precursor to the deadly riot. He has denied engaging in violence, but the state senator appears to have been much closer to the Capitol than he initially claimed, according to video footage, the Capital-Star has previously reported.
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In a statement, the U.S. House committee said Mastriano was “part of a plan to arrange for an alternate slate of electors” and reportedly spoke with Trump about “post-election activities.”
The panel cited a Nov. 28, 2020, tweet from Mastriano, who said he was advocating for the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature to appoint Electoral College delegates, the Capital-Star previously reported
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But when it issued its legal demand, the House panel specifically said Mastriano “didn’t need to send any materials related to official actions in his current position as a Pennsylvania state senator,” Politico reported.
Because of that “sizable carve-out,” the majority of the material that Mastriano shared with the U.S. House panel were publicly available social media posts, according to Politico.
Mastriano’s lawyer, Tim Pastore, told Politico that the Republican, who has spread baseless claims of election fraud, “has nothing to hide and has provided all responsive documents and will be sitting for a voluntary interview as the committee has agreed to forego a formal deposition for him.”
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According to Politico, receipts provided to the House panel show that “Mastriano’s campaign committee, Friends of Doug Mastriano, paid $3,354 to a charter bus company in late December 2020, as the progressive news site The American Independent has noted.”
Another document “appears to be a passenger manifest indicating Mastriano’s campaign sold more than 130 tickets to Washington to join the ‘Stop the Steal‘ protests that later metastasized into a siege on the Capitol,” Politico also reported.
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Mastriano, who romped to victory with Trump’s endorsement in the May 17 primary, faces Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the November general election.
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