WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former White House aides are expected to testify at a House committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 6, as the committee investigates what Donald Trump was doing while his supporters stormed the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter. with plans.
Matthew Pottinger, a former deputy national security adviser, and Sarah Matthews, a former press secretary, are expected to testify, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and requested anonymity. Both Pottinger and Matthews resigned immediately after the January 6, 2021 riot that interrupted Congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
The two witnesses will add to the commission’s narrative at its eighth and likely final hearing this summer. The prime-time hearing will tell what Trump did — or didn’t do — that day as his supporters beat police officers and stormed the Capitol.
Previous hearings have detailed chaos at the White House, and aides and outsiders implored the president to tell the insurgents to leave. But he waited more than three hours to do so, and there are still many unanswered questions about exactly what he was doing and saying as the violence unfolded.
A spokesman for the commission declined to comment. CNN first reported the identities of the witnesses on Thursday.
Lawmakers on the nine-member panel said the hearing would offer the most compelling evidence yet of Trump’s “dereliction of duty” that day, with witnesses detailing his failure to stop the angry mob.
“We’ve filled in the blanks,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the House committee investigating the riot, who will help lead Thursday’s session, said Sunday. “It’s going to open people’s eyes in a big way.”
“The president didn’t do much but gleefully watch television during that period of time,” he added.
During its year-long investigation, the group uncovered few details about what the former president was doing when a mob of rioters stormed the Capitol complex. Testimony and documents reveal that those closest to Trump, including his congressional allies, Fox News anchors and even his own children, tried to persuade him to cancel the rally or issue a statement urging the rioters to go home.
At one point, according to the testimony, Ivanka Trump went to her father to plead with him in person when those around him couldn’t get through. All these efforts were unsuccessful.
Thursday’s hearing will be the first in prime time since the June 9 debut, which was watched by an estimated 20 million people.
The hearing comes nearly a week after committee members received a closed briefing from the Department of Homeland Security watchdog after it was discovered that the Secret Service had deleted text messages sent and received around Jan. 6. Shortly thereafter, the committee subpoenaed the agency, seeking all necessary electronic communications from agents around the time of the attack. The deadline for a response from the Secret Service is Tuesday.
Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told The Associated Press on Monday that the Secret Service had informed them that they would hand over records under the terms of the subpoena.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Jan. 6 committee hearings at
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