OPINION: Chris Kelly Opinion: Scavo's selective memory stains Jan. 6 deposition

Jan. 8—As frothed-up rioters converged on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, traveling election-integrity advocates Frank Scavo and Teddy Daniels did what any America-loving, pocket Constitution-toting superpatriots would do under such historic circumstances.

They went for a sandwich.

I am not making that up. Frank might be, but he was under oath so let's roll with it.

"We were on the west side of the National Mall, and there's nobody around, and there's nothing going on, and there's not people climbing scaffolds," Frank told federal attorneys in a June deposition for the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol.

"And, you know, Teddy said, hey, let's go for some lunch. Because Teddy, having run for Congress, knew the area, and we went over and got a sandwich and we walked around the block. And by the time we got back at about 1:20, 1:30 (p.m.), that's when things started to go crazy."

"Crazy" fits. Also "treasonous," "criminal," "unforgivable" and a host of other damnable adjectives that describe the failed coup that caused at least five deaths, injured 138 police officers and desecrated "The People's House" over a Big Lie that still roils Our Republic two years later.

Friday marked the second anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on America since 9/11. I spent it reviewing the transcript of Old Forge Insurrectionist Frank Scavo's interview with lawyers representing the Jan. 6 Committee. Last May, The Times-Tribune reported that the committee subpoenaed Frank, but neither he, his attorneys nor a committee spokeswoman would confirm the subpoena or say whether Frank testified.

Turns out he did. A transcript of his June 1 deposition is included in the committee's voluminous final report released on Dec. 22. I don't have the space for a deep dive today. Please see the transcript and a treasure trove of other damning documents at Govinfo.gov.

Frank's deposition — conducted via Zoom from his attorney's office in Scranton — is a study in selective amnesia. I've seen the "I don't recall" defense used in dozens of criminal and civil trials, depositions and interviews over my nearly 30-year career in journalism. In my experience, the more guilty the witness, the less reliable the memory under oath.

My memory works fine. I do recall that in the immediate aftermath of the attack, Frank lied repeatedly to anyone who would listen. He said he didn't get close enough to the Capitol to see what was happening, but he was pretty sure "Antifa" was responsible for the riot.

When journalists proved that Frank breached the Capitol, he ridiculously claimed he was "carried inside" by the force of the crowd. When media photographs and his own videos and antisocial media posts outed Frank as a knowing, willing and exultant participant in a domestic terrorist attack, Frank pleaded guilty to what he once arrogantly insisted he had not done in exchange for dropped charges and a light (60-day) federal prison sentence.

Now, I'm not accusing Frank of being dishonest in his deposition, but his track record and his professed inability to recall key details of documented events and his known associations naturally raise reasonable doubt. After years of striving to become someone in right-wing Republican politics, Frank barely knows anyone when he's sworn to tell the truth.

As more pieces of the puzzle came together, I and other local and national journalists lobbied for Frank to be deposed by the Jan. 6 Committee. Some of the most compelling evidence for calling Frank to testify came from "friends" like Steve Bannon. The former Trump adviser, pardoned felon and flea market Machiavelli said this on his Jan. 5, 2021 "War Room" podcast:

"People don't understand. You know, after hours we're on Skyping these calls in Lackawanna County into all these you know, patriot groups around and conservative groups who see through in the fog of war is to have clarity... that January 6th was going to be the day."

If there's a conservative group in Lackawanna County, it's a supremely safe bet Frank founded it, led it, or at least joined it. His fuzzy testimony to the Jan. 6 Committee should earn him a subpoena from the Justice Department.

More than 30 times during his deposition, Frank responded, "Not that I recall." More than 20 times, he leaned on the equally greasy, "to the best of my knowledge." Thankfully, contemporaneous reporting can refresh even the dimmest recollection.

Frank's connections with Bannon, Rod of Iron Ministries and other apparent architects of the insurrection made him a potential key witness for the committee. The bulk of the questions focused on who and what Frank knew and when.

Frank admitted a "casual" acquaintance with Alexandra Preate, the daughter of Frank's former attorney Ernie Preate and a longtime spokeswoman for Bannon. Alexandra Preate was also deposed by the committee. She introduced Frank to Bannon and helped arrange for Frank to make a pair of appearances on "War Room." She helped get Bannon to make Skype addresses at a pair of rallies hosted by Rod of Iron, the gun-worshipping wing of the Unification Church ("Moonies") in Wayne County.

Aside from his "War Room" appearances, Frank claimed his communication with Bannon was limited to audience introductions. Asked if he remembered what Bannon said to the crowd via Skype at a Dec. 29, 2000 Rod of Iron rally, Frank answered:

"Unfortunately, no. Being the emcee, I'm worrying about introducing the next speaker, getting the bio for the next guy. So, you know, if you've ever been an emcee, you don't really listen to the speakers. Your job is to get them going and then you're ready for the next succeeding speaker."

So, under oath, Frank told government lawyers he was too busy being an emcee to listen to an international right-wing superstar froth up the crowd he was hosting. Please. The claim is unbelievable on its face. It's rendered laughable by a contemporaneous Raw Story article on the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in October 2020.

In the eyewitness account of the pre-election rally, Frank introduces Bannon, who warns the crowd of a Democrat/Liberal Media plot to steal the election from Trump. According to Raw Story:

Following Bannon's remarks, Scavo reinforced the previous speaker's points.

"You heard Steve Bannon," Scavo said. "Now is our time, now is your time. Working the polls — all you're doing is making sure that it's going straight, that it's going according to plan. All you're doing is making sure that there aren't busloads of people which show up and just happen to vote."

For the record: Frank heard Steve Bannon in October, but not in December, eight days before the attack on the Capitol. Are you listening, Justice Department?

Committee lawyers did bring some receipts, including cryptic texts between Scavo, Alexandra Preate and others, evidence from his sentencing memorandum and videos that appeared to contradict his sworn statements. The most compelling challenge came when Frank was asked whether he knew Charles Bausman, a pro-Putin blogger who hosted a white supremacist rally on his Lancaster property and heavily pushed the "Stop the Steal" movement. Frank testified:

"Not that l recall. Nothing of significance. Don't forget, I meet a lot of people at my political rallies and I've knocked on tens of thousands of doors. So to say that I recall him specifically, no."

The lawyer then pulled up a snippet of a livestream Bausman shot on Dec. 30, 2020. Frank wanders within inches of Bausman, taking his own video of the event. Another screenshot of a Jan. 3, 2020 event shows the "patriots" in proximity again. Frank's reaction is priceless:

"Yeah. I'm not — is he somebody that said hi, Frank? Possibly. But I don't recognize no Charles Bausman. But obviously, he's there recording in the crowd, I may have set eyes on him. Charles Bausman? No."

Mmm, I'm leaning toward, "Yes." Three days after the second video was shot, Frank and Bausman both breached the Capitol. Bausman has since fled to Russia. I am not making that up.

Frank is still in Old Forge, still spinning ghost stories about "Antifa" attackers instigating the riot, still blaming "lax security" for his choice to join a terrorist attack on America. In his Jan. 6 Committee deposition, Frank admitted he and his fellow travelers "crossed the line," but still played the misunderstood martyr:

"The tremendous lack of security caused the situation that is a stain on American history. None of this would have ever happened if there were National Guard, law enforcement. It's not my position to say what needs to be there, but having nothing there and allowing this to precipitate was unconscionable.

"I mean, it caught up me, who has no criminal record, has been elected to public office, has been in the public eye for multiple years, and now I'm a victim of this event."

I left a message on Frank's cellphone voicemail on Friday, in which I noted the irony of the date and said I had some questions about his testimony. He didn't call back. That doesn't mean I'll quit asking questions, or stop pushing the Justice Department to take a closer look at who and what Frank knew and when.

The answers are out there, but there is one burning question only Frank and Teddy Daniels (who won't talk to me either) can settle: Did they both order the same sandwich on Jan. 6, and if so, what kind?

My guess is they both got the hero sandwich, as would any America-loving, pocket Constitution-toting superpatriots under such historic circumstances. And maybe a side of freedom fries.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, will never forget the Jan. 6 attack on America. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com;@cjkink on Twitter; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook