January 6th Committee outlines Capitol attacks during public hearing

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Thursday night, Americans got a chance to learn about the last 10 months of the House select committee investigation into the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

The committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews and has tens of thousands of pieces of paper and social media evidence. To craft a compelling story, the January 6th committee brought in a documentary film maker and the former president of ABC News in to help make their case to the public. Formally, the bipartisan panel promised to, “present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, and provide the American people an initial summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.”

As Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) promised, former President Donald Trump was at the center of the attack. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) said that Donald Trump summoned the mob and lit the flame that turned into the hundreds of his political supporters marching from the rally on January 6th up to the U.S. Capitol.

The Mississippi democrat opened the prime time public hearing, telling Americans: people in his home Congressional district historically tried to justify slavery and the KKK. Then, he drew a line to today, saying, “I’m reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try and justify the actions of the insurrectionists on January 6th.

Committee Vice Chair Republican Liz Cheney laid out the plan for a series of hearings, during which Americans will learn Donald Trump had no interest in stopping the attack. “Those who invaded our Capitol and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them. That the election was stolen, and that he was the rightful president.”

Former U.S. Attorney General told the committee that he told Donald Trump three times that there was no evidence of election fraud presented to him while he was at the U.S. Department of Justice, and since that time, he has not seen evidence of election fraud. Evidence was also presented that then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was told there was “no there there” when it came to problems with the 2020 election. The panel also played clips from daughter Ivanka Trump and key Trump advisers such as Steve Bannon, Jason Miller and Alex Cannon, as well as Mark Short, former chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence.

The committee played a series of videos showing the carnage. The evidence presented including tweets and other communications from Donald Trump as well as U.S. intelligence. Even as some Republican lawmakers tweeted that the hearings do not matter, Rep. Thompson urged Americans not to listen to those who downplay the significance of the riot. He said, “we can’t sweep what happened under the rug. The American people deserve answers.”

Following a brief break, the hearing continued with in-person testimony from two witnesses. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards spoke of how she kept trying to help her fellow officers after she was injured. She told the panel that she stood up, turned around and thought that the West front of the U.S. Capitol, the side which faces the National Mall, looked like a war zone.

Documentarian Nick Quested spoke of how he was working on a film about the militia group, the Proud Boys. He got separated from his crew and kept filming on January 6th, turning of much of his never-before seen footage to the committee.

The committee has a total of 6 hearings planned, with the next scheduled for Monday, June 13 at 10 a.m. Eastern.

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