Newt Gingrich: January 6 panel wants to interview former US House speaker

Mr Gingrich communicated with Trump advisers before 2021 attack on Capitol, committee says

The US House committee investigating the January 6 investigation asked Newt Gingrich to voluntarily provide evidence as the panel continues its probe. AFP

The committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has asked former House speaker Newt Gingrich to provide evidence about his communications with senior advisers to then-president Donald Trump in the days before the insurrection.

Bennie Thompson, the committee's chairman, wrote a letter to the influential Republican, saying that the panel has obtained emails Mr Gingrich exchanged with Trump associates about advertisements that “repeated and relied upon false claims about fraud in the 2020 election”.

“Information obtained by the select committee suggests that you provided detailed directives about the television advertisements that perpetuated false claims about fraud in the 2020 election, that you sought ways to expand the reach of this messaging, and that you were likely in direct conversations with President Trump about these efforts,” Mr Thompson wrote.

The letter said the committee had information that Mr Gingrich was part of a plan to replace state electors with hand-selected candidates that would act to ensure Mr Trump remained in office despite losing the election to Joe Biden.

The committee asked Mr Gingrich to appear and answer questions during the week of September 19.

Mr Gingrich, a major voice in Republican circles, served as House speaker from 1995-1999. He launched an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2012.

Since leaving office last year, Mr Trump has refused to admit that he lost the election, instead repeating his debunked claims of fraud.

Thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to halt Congress's certification of Mr Biden's victory. More than 900 people have been charged in connection with the attack, data compiled by Insider show.

Mr Trump on Thursday said he would “very, very seriously” consider pardoning and issuing an apology to those convicted for their January 6 crimes if he is elected again in 2024.

Agencies contributed to this report