Rep. Jamie Raskin teases Jan. 6 committee to reveal new information about Trump ally Roger Stone
As the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol enters the final months of its inquiry, panel member Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, teased Friday that the panel would likely reveal more of its findings related to longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.
According to a report by Politico, committee aides in August traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to review documentary footage related to Stone. A team of Danish filmmakers followed Stone for over two years, over a period that included Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol.
"I think there might be some clues that surface from the new information we got there," Raskin told CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa during an interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin.
The Maryland Democrat and former constitutional law professor identified Stone, along with other Trump allies like Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon, as someone who "was interfacing with the underworld of domestic violence extremists." Asked how Stone figures in the Jan. 6 story, Raskin replied, "stay tuned" — but told Costa that Stone "saw where things were going."
The committee subpoenaed Stone for documents and testimony last November. He met with investigators the next month, but asserted his Fifth-Amendment right against self-incrimination to every question.
Raskin's interview with CBS News came as the committee prepares to unveil more of its findings in its next public hearing on Wednesday. The chairman of the panel, Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, told reporters this week it was likely to be the final presentation before the committee turns its focus to preparing an interim and final report.
Though Raskin declined to "speculate" on Wednesday's topics, he said he hopes it will feature more information about domestic violent extremist groups — an area of the inquiry Raskin led — and social media.
Since its last public hearing in July, the panel has focused on "completing the picture," Raskin said.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is conducting its own investigation related to the Jan. 6 riot, issuing subpoenas to several Trump associates in the inquiry, multiple sources told CBS News. The House committee, however, has not shared transcripts of its depositions and interviews with federal prosecutors.
Raskin said the committee is considering the Justice Department's requests for information on a case-by-case basis. "Our baseline presumption is that we want to help the Department of Justice do its job and facilitate them doing their job the way that any American citizen would want," he said. "At the same time, we don't want information getting out that could be distorted in some way or used against our investigation. So, I think those are probably the two major competing concerns but overwhelmingly, the committee has tried to be cooperative."
Raskin also fielded questions Tuesday about the 2024 presidential election, including whether he would support another run by President Joe Biden. "I mean, I love Joe Biden. I think that's a guy who has thrown everything into the struggle for democracy and he understands it," Raskin said.
Asked if he himself would consider running in 2024, Raskin said he had "no blood lust for that particular office" before noting his view of Congress as the "preeminent branch of government."
"I can't imagine that a former constitutional law professor from the very blue state of Maryland, would be best situated to run and win," Raskin said. "But if people tell me that I really am the one to do it, then I would obviously have to look at it because I love America."
You can hear Rep. Raskin's full conversation with Robert Costa on the CBS Mornings Podcast: