Former Donald Trump aide Dan Scavino has denied that he was actively avoiding being served his subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack, following reports he has now received it.
Scavino, a former deputy White House chief of staff for communications, is one of a number of Trump allies or supporters who have been subpoenaed as part of the investigation into the riot at the Capitol.
CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, that the subpoena was brought to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday, October 8. Scavino, who was in New York at the time, asked a staff member to accept it on his behalf.
The network previously reported that the House select committee was struggling to find the whereabouts of Scavino in order to physically to serve him.
In a tweet on Sunday night, Scavino described the "dangerous and false narrative" that he tried to avoid or evade the subpoena as a "disgrace."
"I can only wonder where it came from, and what their goal was," Scavino added.
"Not ONE attempt was made to contact/serve me when I was at Mar a Lago for 6 days, or home in NY for 8 days thereafter!"
Eric Trump, one of the former president's children, also dismissed claims that Scavino was attempting to avoid being served a subpoena.
"I love this democratic narrative that Dan Scavino is in 'hiding," Eric Trump tweeted on October 7. "Ironic given I saw him yesterday at a 1000+ person Law Enforcement funeral for a dear mutual friend in New York.
"Dan was walking around, shaking hands... I don't know how much more public one could be."
According to the House Committee letter, Scavino is alleged to have information relevant to "understanding important activities" that led to the January 6 attack, and knowledge of what Trump would tell his supporters before the riot.
Scavino is said to have been with Trump on January 5, when he and others were allegedly considering how to convince members of Congress not to certify the election for Joe Biden.
He also tweeted out messages of support for the protests prior to the mob storming the Capitol, as well as sending messages from inside the White House on January 6.
Scavino was subpoenaed in September along with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel, and ex-Trump advisor Stephen Bannon.
In a statement on Friday, the House select committee confirmed that Meadows and Patel are co-operating, but Bannon has "indicated that he will try to hide behind vague references to privileges of the former President."
"The Select Committee fully expects all of these witnesses to comply with our demands for both documents and deposition testimony," Chairman Bennie G. Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney added in a statement.
"Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral."
The House select committee has been contacted for further comment.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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