“Because the Select Committee has absolutely no authority to compel depositions, Plaintiff was willing to participate in a voluntary interview,” the complaint states. “However, because Plaintiff is currently the Republican candidate for Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he requested that the Commission agree to certain safeguards that would ensure that his participation would not run the risk of improperly influencing Pennsylvania’s state elections “.
“Unfortunately, the Commission refused to negotiate any voluntary interview terms that would have prevented it from improperly influencing the election, thereby necessitating this action,” the complaint adds.
Mastriano’s mock appearance earlier this month before the Jan. 6 committee lasted only about 15 minutes and “didn’t answer any questions,” a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
His attorney dropped the mock appearance shortly after it began, the source said. Mastriano’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, took issue with several procedural issues related to the deposition and raised questions about the legality of the subpoena Mastriano received from the committee, the source added at the time.
“We were there for 15 minutes. It was clear that the committee was not in a position to comply with the regulations regarding the use of the deposition authority and furthermore had no interest in complying with the regulations,” Parlatore said. “We are happy to provide the information if they can either do it fairly and legally or if we can come to a solution on how to conduct a voluntary interview that minimizes the risk of election interference.”
Mastriano was a central player supporting former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Mastriano was also among the crowd of Trump supporters at Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, during the riot, although he did not join the Capitol itself and has not been charged with any crimes.
CNN previously reported that Mastriano’s appearance was expected to be short and unproductive because Mastriano’s camp and the committee were at a standoff over issues such as whether he could independently videotape or record his appearance.
