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Almost a year after the formation of an elected committee of the House of Representatives investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, lawmakers are ready to make their case public.
On Thursday night, President Benny G. Thompson (D-Miss.) And Vice President Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) Will launch a series of televised hearings involving a combination of live witnesses, pre-recorded interviews with figures that include members of the the Trump family and unprecedented video footage.
The hearings marked the culmination of an investigation that included more than 1,000 interviews and reviews of more than 125,000 recordings. Taken together, the paper is the most comprehensive document on the deadly attack to date, and committee members say it stands out as only the most visible evidence of a broader conspiracy to undermine American democracy – the one coming from the White House.
To tell this story, the commission will rely on testimonies from insiders from the administration, including a previously unknown aide who gave the commission a detailed reconstruction of meetings and movements in the West Wing. The committee also has videos of interviews with Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, which some say will contribute to the conquest of television.
But the end result of the commission’s efforts remains an open question. Public opinion on January 6 and on former President Donald Trump has long been entrenched in rival blocs, making it difficult to break through, even with prime-time programs. The committee was also concerned about the lack of cooperation from some Republicans – including some of those closest to Trump – leaving potential gaps in the evidence and a clear shortage of high-ranking figures ready to take witness seats.
Meanwhile, from a legal point of view, the investigation may have limited direct consequences: although the commission may refer the case to prosecution, the Ministry of Justice will ultimately decide whether to bring charges.
Still, the crime of a former US president in Congress would be an extraordinary step. And whether or not it is taken, the hearings will be a historic moment in which the commission uncovers evidence of what it describes in court documents as a “criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
“In any case, these hearings are very important in obtaining this information,” said Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as an adviser to Democrats in the House of Representatives on Trump’s first impeachment process.
The first hearing is likely to provide the American public with an initial argument and an overview of the events of the day the rebels invaded the Capitol, as well as the weeks leading up to it.
Legislators are also expected to focus on the ways in which Trump’s false allegations of fraud continue to spread and threaten the integrity of future US elections, according to people involved in the investigation, who, like others interviewed for the story, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. They warned that much of the plan remains under discussion and is subject to change.
The witnesses who will appear at the first hearing have not been announced yet. But the commission will try to publish the story of the violence in the Capitol in the context of a wider conspiracy with multiple tentacles to undo the results of Joe Biden’s election victory, with Trump’s involvement serving as the end line.
The hearings following this month – expected to be at least six in total – will develop specific aspects of this story. Another hearing, for example, is likely to focus, at least in part, on alternative lists of Trump voters that could be used to try to undermine Biden’s legitimacy, according to people involved in the investigation.
The final hearing is likely to be chaired by representatives Adam Kinsinger (R-Ill.) And Elaine Luria (D-Va.) And will focus primarily on Trump: what he did, what happened around him and what he said before Jan. 6 and this day. A planner said the few remaining “bombs” would come to the final hearing, although he warned that the most notable evidence against the former president – that he claimed to have voiced support for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence – was reported.
The commission – which includes two Republicans and seven Democrats – is still finalizing witnesses. But senior officials are likely to attend the hearings at Trump’s Department of Justice and advisers in Pence’s inner circle. Investigators have also secured cooperation from a relatively lower administration employees who witnessed crucial moments.
The attack: The January 6 siege of the US Capitol was neither a spontaneous act nor an isolated event
People familiar with the committee’s dynamics said Cheney was taking an aggressive role in organizing the hearings. Members discussed which witnesses should be presented, and several people involved said MEPs were disappointed that key final decisions had not yet been made.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a chief aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, has testified before investigators for more than 20 hours and is expected to play a major role in the hearings, according to people familiar with the matter. Hutchinson, officials familiar with the commission said, had provided extensive information about Meadows’ activities in an attempt to cancel the election.
Meadows, through his lawyer, declined to comment.
The Washington Post reported late last month that Hutchinson told the committee that Meadows had told others that Trump had expressed support for hanging his vice president after rebels stormed the Capitol that day began chanting. “Hang on Mike Pence!”
“Cassidy Hutchinson could be the next John Dean,” Eisen added, referring to a former presidential adviser who accused President Richard M. Nixon of being directly involved in the Watergate scandal before Senate investigators and federal prosecutors.
Hutchinson is likely to testify live before the commission, supplemented by videos from previous interviews with investigators, according to someone familiar with the investigation.
Hutchinson reminded the commission of various episodes in the chaotic struggle to sustain Trump’s lie about election fraud. Former mid-level assistant it maintained detailed schedules of movements in the West Wing and had extensive conversations with Meadows.
Court documents show details of Hutchinson a meeting before Jan. 6 between Meadows Republicans and the House of Representatives to discuss delaying a joint congressional session – or preventing the vote count altogether – so that state legislatures can elect different voters.
Investigators have begun to view Meadows as a key player in efforts to overturn the election results. According to people familiar with their interaction, he was in close contact with Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his outside legal team, which worked from the Willard Hotel in Washington.
“Meadows will tell Trump we want to talk to him,” said a man involved in the operation.
Meadows was also warned before January 6 about the prospect of violence that day, according to Hutchinson. She told congressional investigators that Anthony Ornato, a senior secret service official who also served as a political adviser to the White House, told Meadows that “we had intelligence reports that there could be potential violence. -you”.
Meadows initially cooperated with the investigation by providing his text messages, among other recordings. But like many of Trump’s relatives, he eventually refused to testify.
The committee has handed down criminal charges against Meadows and Trump’s top advisers, Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, for opposing the commission’s summons. The department announced on Friday that it has filed charges against Navarro, but will not press charges against Meadows and Scavino. Former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon was charged with two counts of contempt last year and will face trial in July.
Unlike other bold names called by the commission, Hutchinson is no longer a figure in Trump’s orbit or Republican politics.
Another middle and low level administration, campaign and Capitol Hill officials described their involvement in the investigation as an opportunity to share their views with the American public after a traumatic experience. According to people involved in the investigation, the commission agreed to anonymize the accounts of those who expressed fear or discomfort of public speaking.
“You will hear people you have not heard of before or who have not had the opportunity to do any kind of media,” said a man who provided a recorded account for the commission.
Photos from January 6 depict the attacked US Capitol
Although the commission has not made a final decision, people familiar with the investigation believe the commission will screen footage of Ivanka Trump and Kushner’s testimony – including Trump’s account of her father’s actions in the West Wing on January 6.
“Everyone will pay attention when Jared and Ivanka talk on video. It doesn’t matter how damned the presentations are, “said a source close to the investigation.
Stories of committee members and testimonies published in court documents depict a daughter who was in and out of her father’s presence while the Capitol was under siege, repeatedly trying to get him to respond to the violence.
Former Trump national security adviser Keith Kellogg told investigators during a speech to the committee in December that the day after the uprising, he told Ivanka that he “appreciated what she did that day …
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