WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – A congressional panel investigating last year’s attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters presented evidence during a prime-time hearing that the former president posed a threat to both US democracy and his president. Mike Pence.
Liz Cheney, the Republican’s deputy chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee of inquiry into the January 6, 2021 attack, told a hearing on Thursday that Trump was in favor of the Mafia’s chanting to “hang Mike Pence.”
The Democrat-led committee is holding a series of six hearings this month to share findings from its nearly year-long investigation into events before and before the day of the attack.
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“You will hear President Trump shout and, I quote, ‘really angry’ to advisers who told him he had to do more,” to quell the riot, Cheney said at the hearing. “And, aware of the rebels chanting to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with that feeling: quote: ‘Maybe our supporters have the right idea,’ Mike Pence was quoted as saying, ‘he deserves it.’
Congresswoman Dick Cheney’s father was vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.
The Capitol attack was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to stop members of Congress from being officially certified in a process observed by Pence, the loss of Republican Trump to Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 election.
A routine event, certification has become a focus for Trump, who saw it as his last chance to retain the presidency despite losing the election. His supporters flocked to Washington to reunite with Trump, who had repeatedly made false allegations that his election had been stolen through widespread voting fraud.
Video of a speech by former US Vice President Mike Pence was shown during the hearing of the US House of Representatives Election Commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 9 June 2022 Jabin Botsford / Poole through REUTERS
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When thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, they sent lawmakers, officials, journalists and Pence himself to flee for his life. The mob not only called for the vice president to be hanged, they erected a makeshift gallows in front of the Capitol.
The committee released a video of Trump’s remarks during a rally in which he called on supporters to march to the Capitol, the seat of Congress, and “fight like hell.”
“If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All Vice Vice Pence has to do is send him back to the United States to certify him, and we become president – and you’re the happiest people,” Trump said. in front of a noisy crowd.
“Mike Pence will have to do it for us – and if he doesn’t, it will be a sad day for our country,” Trump added.
Cheney and Democrat Benny Thompson, chairman of the committee, outlined plans for the remaining hearings. One will focus on Trump’s efforts to pressure Pence to refuse to count the vote. Cheney released a video of Pence, who remarked last February: “President Trump is wrong. I had no right to cancel the election. “
Other future hearings will include testimony from Greg Jacob, Pence’s former chief adviser, about Trump’s demands. Mark Port, Pence’s former chief of staff, is also expected to testify.
“Witnesses to these hearings will explain how the former vice president, as well as his staff, have informed President Trump over and over again that what he was pressuring Mike Pence to do is illegal,” Cheney said.
Short said in a statement to the commission that Pence ultimately knew that his loyalty to the Constitution was his “first and foremost oath.”
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Report by Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan, additional reports by Doina Chiaku; Edited by Scott Malone and Will Dunham
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