Challenger calls on Stefanik to release communication with Trump White House

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WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - There’s a call for north country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to release her communication, if any, with the White House leading up to January 6.

It comes from Matt Castelli, a Democrat running against the Republican congresswoman next year.

He wants Stefanik to be fully transparent with any phone calls, emails or text messages she had with members of the Trump Administration between Election Day 2020 and the January 6 riots at the Capitol.

Castelli said he wants to know if Stefanik had advance notice of the attack.

The following is Castelli’s full news release:

In light of reports that Republican lawmakers were briefed by retired US Army Colonel Phil Waldron and others on a 38-slide PowerPoint presentation outlining strategies to block certification of the election of President Joe Biden, former CIA officer and congressional candidate Matt Castelli called on Elise Stefanik to release all correspondence with the Trump White House between Election Day 2020 and the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows submitted the PowerPoint presentation to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack before he stopped cooperating. According to hearings from the Select Committee, at least one member of Congress directly apologized to Meadows for not overturning the election. To provide transparency into what role she played in concert with the Trump White House in the run up to and execution of January 6th, Castelli is calling for Stefanik to be fully transparent with any phone calls, emails, or text messages she had with members of the Trump team.

“The North Country deserves someone who puts country before party,” said Castelli. “The Jan. 6 insurrection was more than a deadly attack on our Capitol, it was an attack on the heart of our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power – for which we must have truth and accountability. Was Elise Stefanik briefed on the Coup Planning Powerpoint? Did she have advance knowledge of the January 6th attack? Did she coordinate with the White House on her vote to decertify the election results on January 6th? What steps did she take with the former President Trump or the White House to stop the attack? Her constituents in the 21st district and all Americans deserve answers. I call on Rep. Stefanik to release to the public any and all correspondence – including e-mails, notes, phone records, and text messages – between Rep. Stefanik, her office, and her staff with the Trump White House between November 3, 2020 and January 6, 2021.”

“During Trump’s presidency, Rep. Stefanik rose the GOP ranks to be a lead fundraiser for the party and primary Trump ally. Stefanik voted to decertify the election in the immediate aftermath of the attack, voted against a Jan. 6th bipartisan independent commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection, and then ousted Rep. Liz Cheney to become the third-highest ranking Republican in the House in May 2021. Stefanik has since attempted to shift blame for the attack to Democrats and voted against holding Jan. 6th planners like Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows accountable during her time in office. It’s now unclear what she knew about Jan. 6 and when. Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who submitted the presentation to the House select committee, was in possession of the presentation titled “Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for JAN 6″ at least one day before the Capitol insurrection, and retired U.S. Army colonel Phil Waldron told the Washington Post he was part of the team that briefed the lawmakers on the presentation.”

7 News reached out to Stefanik for comment. Here’s what Alex DeGrasse, Senior Advisor to Congresswoman Elise Stefanik had to say:

“This is a candidate woefully out of touch with the North Country and desperately grasping for relevance. Matt Castelli fully embraces Nancy Pelosi’s false, Far-Left, deranged, anti-Trump talking points about a sham commission that is doctoring evidence - straight out of Adam Schiff’s illegal playbook.

The Stefanik campaign is calling on Matt Castelli to release all communications and documents when he worked on President Obama’s staff and is widely known to be involved in the illegal spying on the Trump campaign and the efforts for a coup against President Trump.”