Lauren Boebert met Trump advisers before Jan 6 to discuss whether Pence could override votes, aide says

Ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson says Rep Lauren Boebert is one of the House members who met with White House officials to plan attempting to overturn the 2020 election

The Colorado congresswoman who tweeted about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location during the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814 met with Trump White House officials in the days leading up to the 6 January joint session of Congress that was interrupted by the attack.

According to a transcript of an interview with ex-Trump White House official Cassidy Hutchinson by members of the House select committee investigating the attack, Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was among the GOP members of Congress who met with White House officials to discuss how then-vice president Mike Pence could keep from certifying Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden.

Ms Hutchinson, who served as an aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, told the committee Mr Meadows and a number of House members were present at such meetings, and said participants had “come in prepared with information about ways that they think the Vice President could approach certifying the electoral college votes”.

Asked who participated in the planning sessions, Ms Hutchson told investigators Ms Boebert had been present along with GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, and Scott Perry.

Mr Jordan and Mr Perry are among the House members who’ve been asked to provide testimony to the panel, but both have refused to do so.

Ms Boebert, who has not asked to give evidence by the committee, drew attention to herself with a series of tweets before and during the attack by a mob of Trump supporters who hoped to prevent Congress from completing certification of the 2020 election.

That morning, Ms Boebert tweeted that the day was “1776” — a reference to the start of the American War of Independence against Great Britain — and as rioters stormed the Capitol she tweeted about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being pulled off the House floor by her Capitol Police security detail.

She also reportedly led unauthorised tours ahead of the 6 January joint session, but she has denied that they were intended to provide reconnaissance opportunities for rioters.

In a statement, Ms Boebert said she had “no role in the planning or execution of any event that took place at the Capitol or anywhere in Washington, D.C., on January 6th”.