WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump Thursday after a dramatic meeting where its members presented evidence that Trump incited the assault on the Capitol even though he knew he had lost the election
Some of the former president’s followers were armed, the committee said, including that the Secret Service knew before the attack that some in the crowd at Trump’s rally had guns and other weapons.
Secret Service members exchanged texts on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021 warning each other of weapons spotted among supporters of Trump at a rally near the White House and the threat of violence at the Capitol, according to the committee, which held its ninth public hearing of the year.
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“Calm before the storm,” one Secret Service agent texted another early that morning, according to evidence reviewed by the Jan. 6 committee.
Another wrote in a Secret Service chat, “Pulling up live-streams and watching the crazies.”
The committee also focused on Roger Stone, a Trump confidant, and his efforts to keep Trump in power following the 2020 election. Stone was behind the “Stop the Steal” movement that falsely claimed Trump won the 2020 election and had close contact with two right-wing extremist groups involved in the Jan. 6 attack.
Watch it:How to watch today’s Jan. 6 committee hearing on the Capitol attack
Hearing day 8 recap: What we learned from the eighth Jan. 6 hearings
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Since the committee’s last hearing in July, the legal landscape for one of the committee’s key targets – Trump – has shifted significantly following the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, his company and three of his adult children alleging fraud.
What happened at Thursday’s hearing:
- Rep. Liz Cheney said 30 individuals asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, and several did so related to questions about their “dealings with Donald Trump directly.”
- Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said he was “stunned by the violence” as well as Trump’s “indifference” to it. “I thought he failed at a critical time to be the sort of leader that the nation needed.”
- The committee showed footage of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asking acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to get Trump to call off the rioters, as well as videos of Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence conferring on the state of the Capitol.
- White House security officials were “in a state of shock” about the idea of Trump walking from the rally to the Capitol, one official testified, because it meant the event was no longer a rally, but “this would move from a normal, democratic, public event into something else.”
- By 9 a.m. Jan. 6, the Secret Service noted some of the crowd was gathered outside a security perimeter at the rally and speculated “they have stuff that can’t come through? Would prob be an issue with this crowd.”
- Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said Trump called her, along with John Eastman, who explained to McDaniel the need for the RNC to help Trump’s campaign gather “contingent electors” in case the results of any elections changed. That was part of fake electors scheme, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., explained.
- Trump’s “false victory speech” was planned well in advance of Election Day, regardless of results, committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren said.
- Trump confidant Roger Stone told Danish filmmakers on Nov. 1, 2020, that then-president needed to declare victory no matter the results. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” he said.
More:House Jan. 6 committee subpoenas former President Donald Trump
Raskin: Trump excused and glorified Jan. 6 attack
Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blamed an unrepetant Trump for the attack on the Capitol building.
“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from great Patriots,” Raskin said, reading a tweet from Trump.
“Trump was telling us that the Vice President, the Congress and all the injured and wounded cops, some of whom are with us today, got what was coming to us,” said Raskin. “According to Trump, January 6 should not be a day that lives in shame and infamy in our history, but rather in glory.”
“Trump did nothing to stop the deadly violence for obvious reasons,” Raskin continued. “He thought it was all justified. He incited it and he supported it.”
– Ken Tran
Chao: It was impossible for me to continue given my personal values
The Jan, 6 committee is playing up criticism of Trump from fellow Republicans, a presentation that included new testimony from Elaine Chao, who resigned from the Cabinet right after the insurrection.
“I think the events at the Capitol were shocking and it was something that as I mentioned that I cannot put aside,” Chao said on videotape.
Chao, who is married to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, told the committee “it was impossible for me to continue given my personal values. I came as an immigrant. I believe in the peaceful transfer of power.”
Trump has often criticized Chao, and made a racist crack about her just this month.
– David Jackson
Trump tweet about Pence ignited security concerns, calls for execution
Within a minute of former President Donald Trump sending out a tweet calling Vice President Mike Pence weak for not overturning the results of the electoral college, a Secret Service agent became concerned about the vice president’s safety.
“POTUS just tweeted about Pence, probably not going to be good for Pence,” the agent wrote in a message shared by the Jan. 6 committee. Five hours later, another Secret Service message read, ““Potus said he he lacked courage. Over 24k likes in under 2mins.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the tweet ignited “violent hashtags” such as “execute Mike Pence.” Anika Collier Navaroli, a Twitter employee who testified in front of the committee, said, Twitter users were “literally calling for his execution.”
– Erin Mansfield
New video shows Pelosi on phone with Pence discussing resuming election certification
The Jan. 6 committee showed never before seen video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling Vice President Mike Pence during the attack on the Capitol to determine whether lawmakers would be able to return to the building to resume certification of the Electoral College votes.
“We’re trying to figure out how we can get this job done today,” Pelosi said on a call to Pence.
Pence later told Pelosi that law enforcement officials believed the House and Senate would be able to reconvene that evening.
– Rachel Looker
‘They’re your people,’ McCarthy told Trump during attack
Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy was among those urging former President Donald Trump to call back his supporters who were attacking the Capitol, according to testimony to the Jan. 6 committee.
In a phone call as the attack was happening, according to a witness, Trump told McCarthy that the rioters were members of the group Antifa.
McCarthy responded: “No, they’re your people.”
Trump fired back to McCarthy, “I guess they’re just more upset about the election than you are.”
The committee showed video of McCarthy’s congressional staff in hiding as the attack unfolded.
– Joey Garrison
Pelosi: ‘Clean up the poo poo’
The Jan. 6 hearing featured same-day video of congressional leaders reacting to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lamenting the rioters’ damage to the U.S. Capitol – including defecation.
It will take time to “clean up the poo poo that they’re making … literally and figuratively in the Capitol,” Pelosi said at one point.
Pelosi is shown speaking on the phone with local leaders about the security situation, saying at one point: “Do you believe this?”
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, is seen at one point telling the acting attorney general Jeff Rosen to tell President Donald Trump to call off the protesters at the U.S. Capitol.
– David Jackson
Pelosi, Schumer plead for National Guard reinforcements
The committee played never-before-seen video of congressional leaders calling for military reinforcements to the Capitol Police and how to resume counting Electoral College votes after evacuating the House and Senate chambers under siege from the rampaging mob.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was walking in a hallway at 2:23 p.m. – soon after the mob breached the building – and talking on the phone. “We have got to finish the proceedings or else they will have a complete victory,” she said.
She and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are shown at 2:57 p.m. urging military leaders to send National Guard troops from Maryland and Virginia. Pelosi urged military officials to treat the situation as if the White House or Pentagon were under siege.
“We need them there now,” Schumer said at 3:46 p.m.
Troops didn’t arrive until after 5 p.m.
– Bart Jansen
Schumer and Pelosi called multiple officials to send help to Capitol
In new footage revealed by the Jan. 6 committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made calls to various officials to send help to the Capitol as rioters entered the building.
“I’m gonna call up the effin Secretary of DOD,” said Schumer, before calling acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and tellnig him: “We have some senators who are still in their hideaways. We need massive personnel now, can you get the Maryland National Guard too?”
Pelosi contacted Mayor of Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan and Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam.
“They’re breaking windows and going in, obviously ransacking our offices and all the rest of that,” said Pelosi in a call to Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. “That’s nothing. The concern we have about personal safety just transcends everything but the fact is that they’re breaking the law in many different ways.”
“Quite frankly, much of it at the instigation of the President of the United States,” said Pelosi.
– Ken Tran
Trump watched Fox News after learning about violence, Raskin says
Trump watched Fox News in a dining room attached to the Oval Office for 2 hours and 40 minutes after he was told that there was violence ongoing at the U.C. Capitol, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Trump returned to the White House at 1:20 p.m. that day, Raskin said, and “was told right then about the onset of violence at the Capitol.” He went to the dining room and stayed until about 4 p.m. as he watched the event unfold.
“President Trump refused entreaties from his closest advisors and family members to tell his supporters to stand down and leave the Capitol,” Raskin said, referencing testimony from White House staff, including Pat Cippollone, Cassidy Hutchinson, and “an employee with national security employee duties,” among others.
– Erin Mansfield
Secret Service was ‘concerned’ Trump would go to Capitol even after returning to White House
Even after Trump returned to the White House after his speech on the morning of Jan. 6, the former president wanted to lead his supporters into the Capitol, according to Secret Service agents and White House officials.
“Front office concerned about OTR to (the Capitol)” one Secret Service agent wrote in an email to Bobby Engel, the head of the president’s security detail. OTR is short for “off the record.”
Former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany testified to the Jan. 6 committee that Trump wanted to physically walk to the Capitol or ride “the beast,” the nickname for presidential limousine, if he needed.
“The people sworn to protect the safety of the president of the United States and who routinely put themselves in harm’s way were compared this was a bad idea,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., one of the committee members.
– Joey Garrison
Jan. 6 panel to recall witnesses, conduct further depositions based on Secret Service material
The Jan. 6 committee will be reviewing testimony regarding potential obstruction, including testimony about advice given not to tell the committee about the events surrounding Jan. 6, Rep. Pete Aguilar said during the hearing.
The committee plans to obtain further information from witnesses who provided testimony and conduct further investigative depositions after obtaining “voluminous” material from the Secret Service.
Aguilar said the committee will provide greater details in their final report.
– Rachel Looker
Trump’s physical altercation with Secret Service was ‘water cooler talk’ in White House
Trump’s physical altercation with the Secret Service on Jan. 6 later became “water cooler talk” among White House employees according to committee member Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
An anonymous former White House employee told the committee that “they remember hearing in the days after Jan. 6, how angry the President was when he was in a limo that afternoon.”
Secret Service Agent Robert Engel and former White House aide Anthony Ornato “expressed to me that the President was irate, you know, on the drive up,” the employee told the committee.
– Ken Tran
Agencies obtained tips of attack prior to Jan. 6
Intelligence about the Jan. 6 attack was available to Secret Service and others in the White House more than 10 days before the march to the Capitol, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said.
The Jan. 6 committee found evidence that Trump was aware of the risk of violence along with the FBI, U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan police and other agencies through intelligence prior to the attack.
Trump’s senior advisors at the Department of Justice and FBI received an intelligence summary days before Jan. 6 indicating certain people traveling to Washington were making plans to attack the Capitol.
The intelligence cited online calls to occupy federal buildings, rhetoric about invading the Capitol and plans to engage in political violence, Schiff said.
On a call with Trump’s White House national security staff in early January of 2021, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense David Norquist warned about an attack on the Capitol.
“Norquist says during one of these calls the greatest threat is a direct assault on the Capitol, I’ll never forget it,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an audio recording played during the hearing.
In a report from the Secret Service field office, a tip that had been received by the FBI included information from a source that said the Proud Boys planned to march armed into Washington and outnumber police.
“Their plan is to literally kill people. Please, please take this tip seriously and investigate further,” the source said.
– Rachel Looker
Secret Service knew the crowd had weapons ‘as early as the night before’
The Secret Service knew before the attack on the Capitol that the crowd forming for Trump’s rally had guns, as early as the night before the attack, according to evidence presented by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for the Jan. 6 committee.
A Secret Service briefing said that in demonstrations on the night of Jan. 5, 2021, there were “multiple weapon offenses to include Carrying a handgun w/out a license, possessing a high capacity feeding device, and unregistered ammunition.” The following day, the Secret Service and other federal agencies would find a similar situation.
Schiff said the Federal Protective Service, a law enforcement agency that protects federal buildings, found a man with a handgun in his waistband. The U.S. Parks Police arrested a man with a rifle in front of the World War Two memorial that day, he said.
Secret Service agents Jan. 6, 2021 texted with each other about all the weapons, with one saying, “With so many weapons found so far, you wonder how many are unknown. Could be sporty after dark.”
– Erin Mansfield
‘Calm before the storm,’ Secret Service member texted Jan. 6 morning
Secret Service members exchanged texts on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021 warning each other of weapons spotted among supporters of President Donald Trump and the threat of violence at the Capitol.
“Calm before the storm,” one Secret Service agent texted another early that morning, according to evidence reviewed by the Jan. 6 committee.
Another wrote in a Secret Service chat, “Pulling up live-streams and watching the crazies.”
By 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 6, Secret Service agents reported more than 25,000 people outside the Ellipse, where Trump later gave a speech that encouraged his loyalists to march to the Capitol.
Agents observed some Trump supporters with guns and others wearing body army, ballistic helmets, pepper spray, and holding riot shields.
“The documents we obtained from the Secret Service make clear that the crowd outside the magnetometers was armed and the agents knew it,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., one of the committee members.
– Joey Garrison
GOP chairwoman was pressured on fake electors
One of the blockbuster witnesses the committee presented on Thursday was Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who testified via videotape how Trump, along with his attorney John Eastman, tried to recruit her to join the plan to overturn the 2020 results.
The plan, based on a debunked legal theory, relied on key states finding Trump-supporting electors who would go to Washington to swing the Electoral College.
McDaniel told the committee how Trump called her and turned the phone over to Eastman, who explained it was important for the national GOP to get behind the plan and help “gather these contingent electors.”
The plan also required former Vice President Mike Pence to toss out the real electors, which he refused to do and later called the idea “un-American.”
– Phillip M. Bailey
After Georgia call, Meadows said Trump ‘knew’ he lost 2020 election
After Trump’s phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where Trump pressured him to just “find 11,780 votes,” former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump “knew” he already lost the 2020 election.
“He can’t possibly think we’re gonna pull this off. That call was crazy,” former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told Mark Meadows after the call ended.
“He (Meadows) started shaking his head and he’s like ‘No Cass, he knows this is over,’” Hutchinson recounted. “He knows he lost.”
– Ken Tran
Hutchinson video:Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson says Trump didn’t want people to know he lost
Committee: Trump knew he lost, but still lied to overturn the election
If there’s one point the committee wants to drive home, it is this: Trump knew he had lost the 2020 election, yet still made improper – and possibly illegal – efforts to overturn that loss to President Joe Biden.
The hearing has included videos from a variety of former aides, from Attorney General William Barr to lower-level lawyers, explaining why Trump’s claims of voter fraud were mistakes or simply lies.
Who’s on :Meet the members of the January 6 House select committee ahead of first public hearing Thursday
“Donald Trump maliciously repeated this nonsense to a wide audience over and over again,” said Rep. Elaine Luria. D-Va. “His intent was to deceive.”
– David Jackson
Scalia told Trump to concede to Biden
Eugene Scalia, the Trump administration’s Labor secretary, told the committee he spoke with Trump on Dec. 14, 2020 – the day Electoral College votes for president were certified, and told him the time had come to concede.
“I conveyed to him that I thought it was time for him to acknowledge that President Biden had prevailed in the election,” said Scalia, the son of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Scalia said the campaign was over if legal challenges were exhausted and fraud not established.
“Unfortunately I believed what had to be done was concede the outcome,” Scalia said.
– Bart Jansen
Trump rushes to complete unfinished business, signs memo for large-scale troop withdrawal
Rep. Adam Kinzinger said once Trump knew he had lost the election, he rushed to complete unfinished business.
He cited how Trump acted immediately and signed an order on Nov. 11 requiring immediate withdrawal of troops from Somalia and Afghanistan to be completed before the Biden inauguration on Jan. 20.
“I personally thought it was military not feasible, nor wise,” said Gen, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Gen. Keith Kellogg, the national security adviser for the president, said in video testimony he thought the memo “was a tremendous disservice to the nation.”
“An immediate departure that that memo said would have been catastrophic,” Kellogg said.
– Rachel Looker
Aide: Angry Trump told Meadows ‘I don’t want people to know that we lost.’
After the Supreme Court stopped his lawsuit related to the 2020 election from going forward, Trump became angry and tried to stop people from finding out that they lost the election, according to evidence presented by the Jan. 6 committee.
“Just FYI potus is pissed – breaking news – supreme court denied his law suit,” an email from a Secret Service agent on Dec. 11, 2020 said. “He is livid now”
POTUS is an acronym for President of the United States.
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said she and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows crossed paths with a “raging” and “fired up” Trump that day as he walked out of the oval office, who then told Meadows something to the effect of, “I don’t want people to know we lost, Mark. This is embarrassing. We need to figure it out. I don’t want people to know that we lost.”
– Erin Mansfield
Trump campaign aides repeatedly told him voter fraud claims were baseless
Trump’s campaign aides exhaustively reviewed each of the former president’s baseless claims of voter fraud but found nothing to invalidate the results of the 2020 election results, according to witnesses who spoke with the committee.
“There’s no ‘there’ there,” Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows told the former president, according to testimony.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien also relayed the reality to the former president. The Trump campaign team lost 65 lawsuits between the November election and Jan. 20 that sought to overturn election results.
“It’s an easier job be telling the president about, you know, wild allegations. It’s a harder job to be telling him on the back end that, yeah, that wasn’t true,” Stepien said to the committee.
– Joey Garrison
Aides said Trump admitted he lost 2020 election
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., one of two GOP members on the panel, outlined how after the election the former president’s campaign aides knew his chances of pulling out a victory were slim.
The committee showed a videotape testimony by former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller, who said how they told Trump, “the odds of us prevailing… were very small.”
Kinzinger then played a clip of Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, saying how he lost and letting the “next guy” deal with foreign affairs.
Other former White House aides also told the committee how Trump acknowledged losing but wanted to keep fighting.
Alyssa Farah, a former White House communications director, said a week after the election was called, she “popped in the Oval (Office)” and that Trump said: “Can you believe I lost to this f-ing guy?”
– Phillip M. Bailey
Stone: ‘We won. You’re wrong.’
The committee showed clips of Roger Stone, a Republican political operative who is a confidant of Donald Trump, from a Danish documentary from director Christoffer Guldbrandsen
“I really do suspect it’ll still be up in the air,” Stone said of his expectations for election night 2020. “When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. No, we won. You’re wrong.”
Stone was previously convicted of lying to Congress and other crimes, and sentenced to three years in prison. Trump pardoned him Dec. 23, 2020. Stone refused to answer questions from the committee by invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
But Stone met with Trump allies at the Willard Hotel near the White House on Jan. 5 and 6, according to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. And he posted his advice to Trump on social media Dec. 27.
“I also told the president exactly how he can appoint a special counsel with full subpoena power to ensure those who are attempting to steal the 2020 election through voter fraud are charged and convicted and ensure Donald Trump continues as our president,” Stone said.
– Bart Jansen
Stone had close associations with Oath Keepers and Proud Boys
In the days leading up to and the day of the Capitol attack, longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone maintained direct connections to the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, far-right extremist groups that were on the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the panel.
Members of those groups have been charged with seditious conspiracy – conspiring against the U.S. government.
“Multiple associates of Roger Stone from both the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys have been charged with this crime,” said committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Lofgren pointed to Stone’s associates who are currently under trial or who have already plead guilty to charges of seditious conspiracy such as Joshua James, leader of the Alabama Oath Keepers who pled guilty earlier this year.
– Ken Tran
Pence staff did not want to declare victory prior to official results
Staff members to Vice President Mike Pence were concerned with what Trump might do on election night regarding the results of the election, Rep. Zoe Lofgren said. She added that the vice president’s staff took steps to ensure Pence would not echo a false victory announcement from Trump.
The vice president’s staff indicated there was a possibility that there would be a declaration of victory, prior to election results being known, within the White House, she said.
Vice President Pence’s counsel Greg Jacob worked with Chief of Staff Mark Short to avoid Vice President Pence from being thrust into a position of having to comment on the election results without efficient information.
“It is essential that the vice president not be perceived by public as having decided questions concerning disputed electoral votes prior to the full development of all relevant facts,” according to a memo sent on election day that the Jan. 6 committee obtained from the National Archives.
– Rachel Looker
Draft statement ahead of election urged Trump to declare victory
An outside advisor to former President Donald Trump sent a draft statement to aides Molly Michael and Dan Scavino days before the 2020 election with language Trump could use to declare victory.
“We had an election today – and I won,” the draft statement from Tom Fitton sent Oct. 31 said. “The ballots counted by the Election Day deadline show the American people have bestowed up on me the great honor of reelection to President of the United States.”
There is no deadline to count ballots only on Election Day, and “everyone knew that ballot counting would lawfully continue past Election Day, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. “Claiming that the counting on election night must stop was, as we now know, a key part of President Trump’s premeditated plan.”
– Erin Mansfield
Lofgren: Trump’s declaration of victory was part of plan to steal the election
The committee is revisiting one of the famous events of Election Night 2020 – Trump’s false declaration of victory.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., noted that Trump and aides planned their “victory speech” well in advance, trying to convince Americans that the election was over and further counting of mail-in ballots was an effort to rig the result.
Calling the false declaration part of an effort to steal the election, Lofgren noted that allies like Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Brad Parscale helped prepare Trump’s premature declaration of victory.
“It was a premeditated plan by the president to declare victory no matter what the actual result was,” she said. “He made a plan to stay in office before Election Day.”
– David Jackson
Trump had ‘pre-meditated plan’ to reject election results, committee says
Trump campaign advisors told the former president on election night that it was premature to declare victory but he did anyway as part of a “pre-meditated plan,” according to the committee.
“It was far too early to many any calls like that,” Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien told the committee in videotaped testimony.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a committee member, said Trump planned to exploit a “red mirage” that would show him ahead of Joe Biden before mail-ballots were counted. Trump attacked mail-ballots throughout the campaign, giving Biden a massive advantage among voters who voted absentee.
And yet Trump advisors advised the former president in the months before the election that mail-ballots could actually help him win.
“Mail-in ballots can be a good thing,” Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner told the committee, describing what was told to Trump
Stepien gave a similar account to the committee but said “the president’s mind was made up.”
– Joey Garrison
Cheney: Trump wasn’t ‘dupe’
In a blistering opening statement, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who serves as the panel’s vice chair, warned that if some sort of action isn’t taken against the former president “another Jan. 6 could happen again.”
“President Trump knew from unassailable sources that his election fraud claims were false. He admitted he had lost the election,” she said.
Cheney, who lost her reelection bid in a GOP primary to a Trump-backed contender in August, has been a chief target of the former president’s ire. She reiterated during Thursday’s hearing how the former president was solely responsible for the attack.
“There is no defense that Donald Trump was duped or irrational,” she said. “No president can defy the rule of law and act this way in a constitutional republic—period.”
– Phillip M. Bailey
Cheney says “no guarantee” institutions will hold next time
Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., warned of future presidencies that could emulate Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
“A key lesson of this investigation is this: our institutions only hold when men and women of good faith make them hold, regardless of the political cost,” said Cheney.
“Any future president inclined to attempt what Donald Trump did in 2020 has now learned not to install people who could stand in the way,” Cheney warned.
– Ken Tran
Committee to present evidence from Secret Service
The Jan. 6 committee will present “new materials produced to the committee by the Secret Service,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Thursday.
The committee found out after subpoenaing Secret Service records earlier this year that the agency had deleted text messages that staff made on Jan. 5 and 6, leading the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general to launch a criminal investigation.
More:Criminal probe of Secret Service texts a ‘big deal’ as agency draws Jan. 6 committee scrutiny
However, since the last hearing, the committee received about 800,000 pages of documents from the Secret Service, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in September.
– Erin Mansfield
Cheney: Trump ‘central cause’ of Jan. 6 Capitol attack
The committee will explore during the hearing former President Donald Trump’s state of mind, intent and motivations in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to the vice chairwoman, Rep. Liz Cheney.
She said Trump made his claims of a stolen election without evidence in hand and then spurred aides to spread lies about fraud.
“The vast weight of the evidence so far has shown us that the central cause of Jan. 6 was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed,” said Cheney, R-Wyo. “None of this would have happened without him. He was personally and substantially involved in all of it.”
– Bart Jansen
Thompson hints at ‘further investigative action’ by the committee
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson previewed coming attractions by noting that this hearing is a also a “business meeting” – meaning the committee could take votes today on future investigative steps.
“In addition to presenting evidence, we can potentially hold a committee vote on further investigative action based upon that evidence,” Thompson said.
Possible actions range from new subpoenas to criminal referrals to the Justice Department.
– David Jackson
Testimony came mostly from Republicans, chairman says
The evidence obtained by the Jan. 6 committee is not partisan and testimony came almost entirely from Republicans, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in his opening statement.
Thompson said testimony came from former President Donald Trump’s closest aides and advisors, the highest officials in the Department of Justice, Republican state officials, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and members of Trump’s own family, among others.
“It’s tough for any congressional investigation to obtain evidence of what we’ve seen, least of all such a detailed view into a president’s inner circle,” Thompson said.
– Erin Mansfield
Jan. 6 panel promises ‘never-before-seen footage’ before hearing begins
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol says it will show “never-before-seen footage” during Thursday’s public hearing and “more details about the ongoing threat to American democracy.”
That’s according to a tweet from the Jan. 6 committee posted shortly before the hearing is set to begin at 1 p.m. EDT.
Thursday will mark the 9th hearing of the committee, which has worked to highlight the central role former President Donald Trump played ahead of and during the attack.
— Joey Garrison
What is the future for Jan. 6 committee members?
Weeks away from the midterms, seven Jan. 6 committee members are gearing up for key races in their home districts while three others will not be returning to Congress next term.
Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was defeated in Wyoming’s GOP primary race this August against Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman.
Both Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida announced did not seek reelection.
The remaining committee members face bids to keep their seats on Nov. 8.
Committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., faces GOP military veteran Brian Flowers, who won the Republican primary earlier this summer.
In Virginia, Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria is running against Navy veteran and Virginia state Sen. Jen Kiggans in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin is running against republican Gregory Coll, a rocket scientist, to keep his seat in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.
In California, Democrats Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar and Zoe Lofgren are facing off against Republican primary winners to remain in office.
Roger Stone’s role:What exactly was Roger Stone’s role in Capitol riot? The next Jan. 6 hearing could tell us
Who are the members of the January 6 committee?
The committee is composed of nine members of the House — seven Democrats and two Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appointed each member.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi serves as the committee chair. He previously worked on legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate Jan. 6, but it died in the Senate. Thompson, who also serves as chair of the Homeland Security Committee, sued Trump after Jan. 6 and accused the president of inciting the attack and conspiring with extremist groups.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., serves as the vice chair and is one of two Republicans on the committee. Cheney condemned Trump for his role in the attack and voted to impeach him, resulting in her being ousted from GOP leadership for criticizing the former president and those who remain loyal to him.
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger serves as the other Republican on the committee. Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. He has condemned members of his own party and has been an outspoken member of the GOP.
Also on the committee are Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Adam Schiff of California, who both served as lead impeachment managers for Trump’s first and second impeachments.
Other Democrat House members include Stephanie Murphy of Florida who co-chairs the Blue Dog Coalition; Pete Aguilar of California, the only Latino representative on the committee; Zoe Lofgren of California, who was involved in prosecuting one of Trump’s impeachment trials and retired Navy commander Elaine Luria of Virginia.
Who else is the committee seeking to testify?
The committee sought testimony from Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, specifically over a phone call Trump made to Vos asking to overturn the results of the election.
The committee expressed interest in speaking again with two Secret Service officials who protected Trump – Anthony Ornato and Robert Engel – after former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony.
Neither have testified under oath. Cheney said the committee received 800,000 pages of communication from the Secret Service after committee members filed a subpoena in July for text messages reportedly deleted.
The committee also requested former House Speaker Newt Gingrich provide information related to Jan. 6.
More:Former Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
Who has testified since the last hearing?
Members of the committee interviewed additional witnesses since the last public hearing in July.
The committee heard from Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, on Sept. 29. She voluntarily agreed to appear before the committee and repeated claims the 2020 election was stolen during her testimony.
Thomas’s lawyer said she voiced concerns over election fraud, condemned the violence on Jan. 6 and answered the committee’s questions.
The committee also heard from Kelli Ward, the head of Arizona’s Republican Party, who declined to answer questions during her subpoenaed testimony, according to a government attorney. Ward was part of a group that cast fake electoral votes for Trump after he lost the state.
The Jan. 6 committee sought a log of her phone calls and text messages. A federal judge decided the committee was within its rights to subpoena Ward for the cell phone records.
What time is Thursday’s Jan. 6 hearing?
The hearing will be at 1 p.m. ET.
Where to watch the Jan. 6 hearing
USA TODAY will air it on its YouTube channel. C-SPAN will also air it, as well as TV networks such as CNN, CBS and MSNBC.
Hearing witness:Stephen Ayres, Capitol rioter who testified at Jan. 6 hearing, gets 2 years probation
Will this be the last hearing?
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said maybe so when interviewed on “Meet the Press” on Sept. 25.
“It, it may be the last investigative public hearing where we’re going to try to round out the factual narrative,” he said, but held out hope there would be an additional hearing “that lays out all of our legislative recommendations about how to prevent coups, insurrections, political violence and electoral sabotage in the future because this is a clear and present danger that’s continuing up right to this day.”
Cheney suggested at the Texas Tribune Festival Sept. 24 that it is unlikely the upcoming hearing will be the last.
