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Donald Trump recently tapped a former Trump administration official, who was reportedly caught on camera at the Capitol on January 6, to help his transition team with employment.
Pete Marocco, who served in the Departments of Defense, State and Commerce under Trump, was seen in Trump headquarters in Florida last week conducting interviews and assisting in the hiring process, Politico reports on Monday.
His arrival also comes almost a month after a group of online trackers, called Rebellion Hunters, claimed they identified Morocco and his wife at the Capitol on January 6. The group used social media, video footage and facial recognition software to identify more than 1,000 people present that day.
When asked about it, Morocco called the claim a “petty slander tactic”. by D Magazine. Morocco and his wife have been charged with any crimes related to January 6.
Morocco was accused of fostering a toxic work environment and mistreating staff, several government officials said at the time. Two unnamed officials said Politico that Morocco has consistently undermined career employees.
Frustrations with Morocco led staff at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to draft a 13-page memorandum outlining their grievances. Morocco eventually took a leave of absence, though it is not clear for how long.
The Independent has requested comment from Trump’s team
said Karoline Leavitt, the new White House press secretary Politico in a statement that Morocco’s “valuable knowledge of national security policy has been a tremendous asset to the Trump-Vance transition effort.”
“Democrats and their allies in the media who think they will obstruct our ability to fulfill this mandate by returning to the same playbook of slander and false outrage from January 6 that the American people strongly rejected will be disappointed,” Leavitt said in a statement.
President-elect Trump has repeatedly downplayed the violence that occurred on January 6, calling it a day of “peace and love”. Although some, including federal prosecutors, have accused Trump of fomenting unrest by spreading lies about the integrity of the 2020 election, the president-elect has denied that.
Trump has promised so far pardoning rioters accused of crimes for their actions that day.