Trump Jr testifies to Capitol riot inquiry, reports say

Son was with Trump in the Oval Office before speech at the January 6 "Stop the Steal" rally

Donald Trump Jr recently spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. Reuters

The eldest son of former president Donald Trump has met the congressional committee investigating the 2021 assault on the Capitol, US media reported on Wednesday, quoting unidentified sources.

Donald Trump Jr was a top figure in his father's 2020 re-election campaign and one of the most high-profile spreaders of the defeated leader's false claims of election fraud.

He was with Mr Trump in the Oval Office before the president's speech at the January 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally that inflamed a mob who laid siege to the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory.

The interview, conducted without a subpoena on Tuesday, was held by video link over about three hours and was cordial, a source told CNN.

The source said Mr Trump Jr, 44, answered every question and did not assert his Fifth Amendment right to silence.

He texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows two days after the election, when the result was still to be determined, with a plan to prevent Mr Biden from being certified as the next president.

The committee has also highlighted a message from Mr Trump Jr telling Mr Meadows as the insurrection was under way that his father had to forcefully condemn the violence.

It has also already spoken to several figures in the elder Trump's inner circle, including his daughter Ivanka, her husband and top Trump aide Jared Kushner, and Mr Trump Jr's partner Kimberly Guilfoyle.

The January 6 select committee plans to hold a series of public hearings in June before releasing a report in the fall on the insurrection and its relation to attempts by Mr Trump and his allies to overturn the election.