Thursday’s hearing was the first in a series this month that will highlight findings from the commission’s investigation, which includes interviews with more than 1,000 people about how Trump and his team tried to overturn the 2020 election results on various fronts.
While CNN and other media outlets reported in great detail, the committee’s hearings will try to tell the story of the American people on January 6.
The commission released a compilation of some of the most alarming footage of the January 6 attack.
These include some unprecedented footage, including aerial footage of security cameras showing the huge pro-Trump crowd as it begins to crowd the Capitol.
The footage also shows the mob taking their remarks directly from Trump, with a rebel reading Trump’s tweet on a megaphone to be heard by other rebels. In that tweet, Trump criticized Pence for announcing that he would not annul the results of the 2020 election while chairing a joint session of Congress to attest to Joe Biden’s victory.
After that moment, the commission’s montage showed a scandalous video of Trump supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”
They then showed a photo of an improvised noose and gallows that the rebels had erected near the Capitol, as well as an intrusive video of other rebels shouting “Nancy! Nancy!” as they gathered in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, looking for her.
These videos immediately told of the horrors of January 6, which could easily be lost in the guerrilla quarrels over the commission and its investigation. But under that probe was a brutal and deadly attack that injured more than 140 police officers and resulted in several deaths. The visceral footage served as a frightening reminder of a dark day in US history.
Trump did not want the riot to stop
The commission revealed testimony from Trump White House officials who said the former president did not want the US Capitol attack to stop, angrily resisted his own advisers calling for an end to the insurgency, and said his own vice president “deserved it.” “To be hanged.
He also offers a new window on Trump’s behavior during the uprising, something the commission has repeatedly suggested would be a key part of their public hearings.
Vice President Liz Cheney described the testimony of a witness who said Trump knew about Hang Mike Pence’s chants and seemed to approve.
Realizing the rebels’ chanting of “hanging Mike Pence,” the president responded with this feeling: [quote] “Maybe our supporters have the right idea.” Mike Pence [quote] “He deserves it,” she said.
Earlier, Cheney described Trump’s inaction on January 6 during those 187 minutes as “neglect of debt.”
Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are central
The committee briefed the American public on two of the country’s most militant far-right extremist groups that attended on January 6: The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
These groups were at the forefront of the revolt. They were among the first to break into the building and are accused of planning violence. Documentary director Nick Custed, who testified Thursday, said he was with the Proud Boys when they gathered in the Capitol before Trump’s speech at Ellipse, showing they were not interested in the rally and watched the Capitol.
Thompson and Cheney tried to connect Trump directly with these extremists, including his comment during a September 2020 debate that the Proud Boys should “back down.” They showed new testimonies from Proud Boys leaders about how they see it as a call to arms.
Federal prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice have charged 17 members of these groups in a rebel conspiracy, an extremely serious allegation made by the commission on Thursday.
Captivating testimony of a Capitol police officer
U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards was the first witness to testify as the face of violence against law enforcement that day.
The committee said Edwards was the first officer wounded by the rebels. She described her pride in “defending the symbol of America’s democracy” – and the brutal public scrutiny she endured after fainting and suffering a traumatic brain injury during the attack.
“They called me a lot of things on January 6, 2021 and the days after,” Edwards said. “They called me Nancy Pelosi’s dog, they called me incompetent, they called me a hero and a villain. I was called a traitor to my country, my home and my constitution. In fact, I was none of those things.”
“I was an American, standing face to face with other Americans, wondering how many times – many, many times – how we got here. “I’ve been called before, but my patriotism or duty has never been questioned,” Edwards added.
Edwards called himself the “proud granddaughter” of a Marine veteran who fought in the Korean War.
“I’m my grandfather’s granddaughter, I’m proud to wear a uniform and serve my country,” Edwards said. “They dared to question my honor. They dared to question my loyalty. And they dared to question my debt. I am a proud American and I will be happy to sacrifice everything to make sure that America, defended by my grandfather, has been here for many years. I’m coming. “
Trump’s team and family are turning against him
The commission’s first hearing was backed by unprecedented videos showing members of the White House and the Trump campaign – as well as his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner – talking about disbelief in Trump’s claims that the election was stolen.
Former Attorney General William Barr said Trump’s allegations of voter fraud were “nonsense.”
Ivanka Trump said she respects Bar and “accepts what he says” about the election.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the campaign data man told Trump in “pretty harsh words that he would lose.”
And the commission cites testimony from Trump’s campaign lawyer, Alex Cannon, who testified that he told Meadows by “mid-late November” that the campaign was empty in an attempt to uncover widespread fraud in key states that Trump lost. . Cannon said Meadows responded to his assessment by saying, “So it’s not there.”
Officials fled the office of Republican McCarthy, but the GOP turned to Trump again.
One of the new videos released by the committee shows officials in the office of Republican leader in the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy rushing frantically after the rebels violated the Capitol.
The video was notable for its role as McCarthy on Jan. 6 – and his opposition to the Jan. 6 commission he has shown since.
On January 6, McCarthy had a heated phone call with Trump as the riot continued. On January 6, the commission called on McCarthy to seek information about the call. And in the days immediately following the uprising, McCarthy said Trump was “responsible” for the attack.
But soon after Jan. 6, McCarthy reconciled with Trump. He opposed the establishment of a commission to investigate the attack on January 6th and repeatedly criticized the commission during the investigation.
Thursday’s hearing showed how the committee – and Cheney, who was ousted last year from his McCarthy Republican leadership – are focused on the Republican leader.
In an introductory statement, Cheney said Capitol Hill leaders had “asked the president” for help, including McCarthy. She said McCarthy was “scared” and called many members of Trump’s family after failing to convince Trump himself.
Pence called for help – not Trump
The commission also showed a new video from its interview with Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Millie, which said Pence had ordered the National Guard to respond to the January 6 violence, but that his the White House has been told to say it was Trump.
“Vice President Pence – there were two or three conversations with Vice President Pence. He was very lively and issued very clear, very direct, unambiguous orders. There was no doubt about that,” Millie said in the video.
“He was very lively, very direct, very firm to Secretary Miller. “Bring the military down here, release the guards here. Reduce this situation and so on, “he added, referring to Pence.
Millie also described his interaction with Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows that day, in stark contrast to those conversations with Pence.
“He said, ‘We have to kill the story that the vice president makes all the decisions.’ We need to establish the story, you know that the president is still in power and that things are stable or stable, or words in that sense, “Millie said in the video, referring to what Meadows said.
“I immediately interpreted this as politics, politics, politics. For me personally, a red flag. No action. But I remember it clearly,” he added.
This story has been broken and will be updated.
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