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- Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks says he is willing to testify before the January 6 panel if subpoenaed.
- Brooks had earlier blown off a letter sent by the panel in May that called on him to testify.
- Up until recently, Brooks was a staunch Trump ally and even begged Trump to endorse his Senate bid.
Rep. Mo Brooks, a one-time ally of former President Donald Trump, said he’s willing to testify before the January 6 panel investigating the Capitol riot if subpoenaed.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Brooks said he would be open to public testimony.
“My basic requirement is it be in public so the public can see it — so they don’t get bits and pieces dribbled out,” Brooks told the outlet. The lawmaker added that he would want to view any documents that he may be questioned about and that he would speak only about issues related to the events of January 6, 2021.
Bennie Thompson, who chairs the January 6 panel, told CNN that Brooks had not yet been served with a subpoena. However, Thompson said that the subpoena had been “redone.”
“So we are in the process of either redoing it or it’s out the door already,” Thompson told CNN on Wednesday.
Thompson told The Hill that Brooks wasn’t served his earlier subpoena because he had been on the campaign trail, adding that subpoenas are only valid for a limited timeframe before they must be redone.
Until this point, Brooks has not cooperated with the January 6 panel, having rejected a letter from the committee in May that called for him to testify.
In July 2021, Brooks told a reporter that he wore body armor to the pro-Trump rally at the Ellipse just before the January 6 Capitol riot. At the time, Brooks said he slept on the floor of his office and that he wore a “nice little windbreaker” to cover up the body armor after being warned of “risks.”
While Brooks was once a staunch Trump ally, the lawmaker has had a tumultuous relationship with the former president in recent months.
On Wednesday, Brooks lost his Alabama Republican primary runoff after being trounced by Katie Britt, the Trump-backed candidate.
Before the loss, Brooks slammed Trump for having “no loyalty to anyone or anything but himself.” Following his failed Senate bid, Brooks also claimed that the “bad guys won” and criticized Trump for not doing anything unless it “enhances his wallet or ego.”
Brooks’ changed opinion on Trump came just a week after he sent out a public appeal to his supporters to get Trump to re-endorse him. The request fell on deaf ears, and Trump endorsed Britt instead.
In March, Trump rescinded his endorsement of Brooks after the latter suggested that the GOP should look forward to 2022 and stop re-litigating the 2020 election. At the time, Trump said Brooks had become “woke” and pulled his backing of the MAGA-linked congressman.
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