WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien and other top aides testified Monday in a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol attack that they believe the 2020 presidential race is too close. to be held on election night, but Trump still declared himself the winner.
Stepien abruptly withdrew from Monday’s live hearing because his wife gave birth. But the panel moved on after a morning brawl, showing earlier testimonies from the former campaign leader and others close to the president, including Ivanka Trump.
“My conviction, my recommendation, was to say that the votes are still being counted, it is too early to say, it is too early to announce the race. Stepien said in the recorded testimony.
Asked if anyone disagreed with him, Stepien said Trump thought I was wrong. He told me so.”
A House of Representatives commission investigating the Capitol riot on January 6th opened its hearing Monday, considering Stepien a key witness. The panel delves into what it calls the “big lie,” the Republican president’s false allegations of voter fraud that fuel his efforts to cancel the 2020 election and provoke a crowd of his supporters to besiege the US Capitol.
Speaker Benny Thompson, D-Miss., Opened the hearing, saying Trump “betrayed the trust of the American people” and “tried to stay in office when people elected him.”
Instead of his live testimony, the group relied on Stepien’s pre-recorded closed-door interview with the panel about what the campaign team was telling Trump when he lost the election. Stipien, a longtime ally of Trump, was called to appear in public.
Stephen and senior councilor Jason Miller testified that the holiday mood at the White House on election night changed when Fox News announced that Trump had lost Arizona to Joe Biden, and aides were working to advise Trump on what to do next. They repulsed Rudy Giuliani, who encouraged Trump to declare himself the winner.
Monday’s hearing was attended by other live witnesses, including Chris Sturworth, a former political editor of the Fox News Channel, who announced on election night that Arizona had been won by Biden.
Members of the commission say they have uncovered enough evidence for the Justice Ministry to consider an unprecedented indictment against the former president.
Thompson, D-Miss., And Liz Cheney’s vice president, R-Wyo., Led the hearing after a blockbuster session last week drew nearly 20 million Americans to see her prime-time findings.
In the last year, the commission has been investigating the most violent attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812 to ensure that such an attack never happens again. Lawmakers hope to show that Trump’s efforts to undo Joe Biden’s election victory posed a serious threat to democracy.
Stephen, who remains close to Trump, watched the “transformation” of Trump’s presidential campaign into a “Stop Theft” effort, according to a summons issued by the commission last fall. He had to face questions about what people close to Trump were saying to the president about the election results. Stephen is now the chief adviser on the Trump-approved House of Representatives candidate Harriet Hayjman, who is fighting Cheney in the Republican primary in Wyoming.
Trump spokesman Taylor Budovic suggested on Sunday that the commission’s decision to summon Stepien was politically motivated.
A second group of witnesses on Monday was to be composed of election officials, investigators and experts who are likely to discuss Trump’s election response, including dozens of failed court challenges and how his actions deviate from US standards.
Among those witnesses is former Atlanta Attorney General BJP, who abruptly resigned after Trump pressured Georgia’s government officials to undo his presidential defeat. Trump wanted to fire Pak as disloyal, but Pak withdrew after Trump’s call, calling on Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s victory in the state, became public.
The panel will also hear former Philadelphia commissioner Al Schmid, the only Republican on the election commission who has faced criticism since the state election was called for Biden, and said Washington attorney and election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg.
As he considers another White House nomination, Trump insists the commission’s investigation is a “witch hunt.” Last week, he said January 6th was “the biggest movement in our country’s history.”
Nine people died in and after the uprising, including a Trump supporter who was shot and killed by police. More than 800 people were arrested during the siege, and members of two extremist groups have been charged with rare rioting charges for their role in leading the Capitol.
In a prime-time hearing, the committee described how Trump has been told over and over again by his trusted aides and top-level officials that there has been no election fraud on a scale that could change the outcome. But Trump continued his false allegations about the election and drew supporters in Washington on Jan. 6 to overturn Biden’s victory as Congress had to certify the results of the Electoral College.
Additional evidence will be released in hearings this week, focusing on Trump’s decision to ignore the outcome of the election and the lawsuits against him.
Monday’s hearing also turned to the millions of dollars in fundraising that Trump’s team contributed in preparation for Jan. 6, according to a commission aide who asked for anonymity to discuss the details.
The committee said most of those interviewed in the investigation volunteered, although some asked for summonses to appear in public.
Lawmakers have said that perhaps their most important member of the public during the hearings could be Attorney General Merrick Garland, who must decide whether his department can and should pursue Trump. They left no doubt as to whether the evidence was sufficient to continue.
“Once the evidence has been gathered by the Ministry of Justice, it must decide whether it can prove to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the president or someone else,” said Adam Schiff, D-Calif, a member of the commission. they need to be investigated if there is credible evidence that I think there is. “
MP Jamie Ruskin, MD, told another member of CNN that he did not intend to “shake” Garland, but noted that the commission had already stated in legal pleadings that members of the Penal Code thought Trump had violated it.
“I think he knows, his staff knows, American lawyers know what’s at stake here,” Ruskin said.
No president or former president has ever been accused. Garland did not say whether he would like to sue.
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Associated Press writer Jill Colvin of New York contributed to this report.
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For a full coverage of the January 6 hearings, go to
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