Many Jan. 6 rally organizers poised to comply with committee, top Trump aides expected to rebuff

Many of the 11 individuals linked to the pro-Trump rally that preceded the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are expected to comply with the House select committee's investigation into the insurrection, while other top Trump associates are expected to attempt to rebuff the committee's requests, sources with direct knowledge tell ABC News.

Last week, the committee issued 11 subpoenas requesting documents and depositions from organizers and others associated with the pro-Trump rally outside the White House that turned into a march on the U.S. Capitol.

ABC News has confirmed that so far a majority of those contacted have engaged in active conversations with the committee. The extent to which they expect to cooperate with the committee's investigation is not clear.

Lyndon Brentnall, the owner of RMS Protective Services, the Florida-based private security firm listed on the National Park Service permit for the rally, and the only individual contacted by the committee to respond on the record, told ABC News, "I have every intention of complying with the House select committee subpoena."

"As far as we're concerned, we ran security at a legally permitted event in conjunction with the Secret Service and United States Park Police," he told ABC News in a statement. "Our entire security team, their names, phone numbers, were given to the Secret Service for vetting."

As part of their request, the committee asked the individuals to provide documents spanning from Nov. 2020 to the present that pertain to their communications surrounding the organization of the rally, including any documents that shed light on former President Donald Trump's "involvement in planning for, participating in, and attendance at the Ellipse rally."

The panel also recently subpoenaed Trump's closest aides and advisers for records and depositions, including from former deputy chief of staff and social media guru Dan Scavino, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and conservative activist Steve Bannon, as well as Kash Patel, who was chief of staff for the acting defense secretary on Jan. 6.

Investigators asked all four to respond to their request for documents by midnight on Oct. 7. Sources close to those individuals expect them to formally rebuff the requests, though plans were still in the process of being finalized Thursday morning.

Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the committee, has already ordered Patel and Bannon to appear for closed-door depositions on Oct. 14 and for Meadows and Scavino to appear for depositions the next day. Thompson said he would issue criminal referrals to anyone who chooses to ignore their deadlines.

In an interview this week with right-wing commentator John Solomon, Trump indicated that he would have no problem with his confidants participating in the probe, and questioned why his lawyers were instructing him to invoke executive privilege as it relates to their testimony.

"I'm mixed, because we did nothing wrong," Trump said when asked if he plans to invoke executive privilege and fight some of the subpoenas sent to his top advisers. "So I'm sort of saying, 'Why are we hiring lawyers to do this?' I'd like to just have everybody go in and say what you have to say. We did nothing wrong."

In August, the committee also requested documents from nearly all government agencies and the National Archives, which maintains control of White House records.

In the 12-page letter to the National Archives, the committee requested records pertaining to more than 30 White House aides, lawyers, Trump family members and outside advisers, along with West Wing communications, records and visitor logs on and around the day of the Capitol riot.

Following this request, Trump issued a statement slamming the investigation as a "partisan exercise" that is "being performed at the expense of long-standing legal principles of privilege."

"Executive privilege will be defended," he said.

It remains unclear if attorneys for the former president intend on informing the committee if their client will seek to invoke such privilege. The select committee declined to comment when reached by ABC News Thursday.