Riggleman: White House Switchboard Called a Capitol Rioter on January 6

Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) said in a preview of an interview that will air Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he learned during his time as a technical adviser for the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot that someone inside the White House called a rioter during the attack.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker asked, “Did it hit you at one point that this is way bigger than it appeared in the beginning?”

Riggleman said, “Absolutely. You get a real a-ha moment when you see that the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter’s phone while it’s happening. That’s a pretty big a-ha moment.”

Whitaker interrupted, “Wait a minute. Someone in the White House was calling one of the rioters while the riot was going on January 6?”

Riggleman said, “Absolutely.”

Whitaker asked, “And you know who was on both ends of that call?”

Riggleman said, “I only know one end of that call. I don’t know the White House end, which I believe is more important. But the thing is, the American people need to know that there are link connections that need to be explored more.”

He continued, “From my perspective, being in counterterrorism, if the White House, even if it’s a short call and it’s a connected call, who is actually making that phone call?

Riggleman added, “Was it an accidental call? When the White House has just happened to call numbers that somebody just misdialed a rioter that day, on January 6? Probably not.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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