Footage Of Donald Trump And Family From Streamer Doc Series ‘Unprecedented’ Subpoenaed By January 6th Committee, Says British Filmmaker

Jesse Whittock
·3 min read
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UPDATED, with comment from committee member: Footage captured for an upcoming streaming series on Donald Trump’s re-election campaign push has been subpoenaed by the January 6th Committee, according to the filmmaker behind the access doc.

Alex Holder of AJH Films took to Twitter to confirm the January 6th Committee had ordered he hand over content captured for the three-part series, Unprecedented. He says a “major streaming service” purchased rights to the doc last year and was due to release it this summer.

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The footage was captured in the final six weeks of President Trump’s failed re-election campaign in 2021 and includes “never-seen-before” scenes from the U.S. Capitol building attack on January 6.

Holder said he was granted “unparalleled access and exclusive interviews with President Trump, Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr., Jared Kushner as well as Vice President Pence,” and footage shot in “the White House, Mar-A-Lago, behind the scenes on the campaign trail, and before and after events of January 6.”

“When we began this project in September 2020, we could have never predicted that our work would one day be subpoenaed by Congress,” said Holder. “As a British filmmaker, I had no agenda coming into this. We simply wanted to better understand who the Trumps were and what motivated them to hold onto power so desperately. We have dutifully handed over all the materials the Committee has asked for and we are fully cooperating.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the committee, told Deadline that they became aware of the footage when “one person who was privy to the information contacted me, wrote me a letter and that was at least the way that I got onto the trail. There may have been other contacts as well.” Asked whether it was one of the documentarians who contacted him, Raskin said, “I don’t want to go any further than that.” He also said that he hasn’t seen the footage and “I hesitate to say anything not having seen it.”

“Obviously we’re very interested in what that footage would show,” he said. He declined to say what streaming service is planning to show the project.

AJH also declined to name the streamer, with an AJH spokesperson saying the company was unable to divulge the information legally. According to sources, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Hulu are not among the possible distributors.

Due to the sale, Holder said did not previously have the legal authority to release the material or publicly discuss the project. He added he was not compensated “in any way” by the former President, his family or staff.

The January 6th Committee, currently investigating the attack on the Capitol and how it began, is conducting a deposition of Holder this Thursday (June 23).

Holder, whose produced 2016 feature doc Keep Quiet, is represented by Russell Smith of SmithDehn LLP.

Ted Johnson contributed to this report.

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