Trump press aide who quit after Capitol riot to testify at Jan 6 committee hearing

A former Trump White House staffer who resigned after the 6 January riot at the US Capitol is set to testify publicly to the select committee investigating the incident.

Sarah Matthews, who served as deputy press secretary in the later phase of the administration, will reportedly be appearing by agreement at a future hearing after receiving a subpoena, according to CNN.

Ms Matthews has already testified to the committee in a videotaped deposition, part of which was featured at a hearing last month. In the clip screened by the panel, she described how she and other staff appalled by the spectacle unfolding at the Capitol pleaded with senior aides to get the president to tweet something de-escalating the violence.

She has also been an outspoken critic of the Trump team’s conduct leading up to the events of January 6, and spoke out to defend her former colleague Cassidy Hutchinson after the latter’s devastating testimony at a recent televised hearing.

“Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinson’s role or her access in the West Wing either doesn’t understand how the Trump WH worked or is attempting to discredit her because they’re scared of how damning this testimony is,” she tweeted last week.

“For those complaining of ‘hearsay’, I imagine the Jan 6 committee would welcome any of those involved to deny these allegations under oath.”

At the time of her resignation, which she announced only shortly after the insurrection, she explained her horror at the violation of a peaceful transfer of power.

“As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today,” she said in a statement released at the time. “I’ll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”

The committee’s next public hearing is scheduled for 12 July, when the panel will lay out evidence and testimony about how the crowd that stormed the Capitol was assembled, covering the role of extremist groups including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.