The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection will hold its last scheduled public hearing tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
In its hearings so far, the committee has focused squarely on former President Donald Trump, connecting his role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election to the violent attack at the US Capitol.
Through nearly 20 hours of public hearings, the committee has heard live testimony from more than a dozen witnesses and played clips from the recorded depositions of more than 40 others, including members of the Trump family, former administration officials, GOP officials from key battleground states and members of the former President’s legal team.
Almost all the witnesses featured so far are Republicans. The committee has sought to use their testimony to demonstrate how Trump was told repeatedly that the election was not stolen, and yet he continued to plot for how to stay in power and that he knew the protesters who showed up in Washington on January 6 were armed. Trump not only urged them to march on the Capitol but had hopes of joining them.
Last week’s hearing focused on links between Trump and the far-right extremist groups that were at the vanguard of the violent effort to stop the transition of power and keep him in office, despite his election loss.
Here are some key things the committee has revealed so far:
The committee has presented testimony from several witnesses, including former Attorney General William Barr and members of the Trump campaign, who made clear that those around the former President told him he lost the 2020 election.
The panel showed video clips from its deposition of Barr in which he detailed why Trump’s fraud claims were “bogus” and stated unequivocally that he has seen nothing since to convince him there was fraud.
The committee has used its public hearings to show how Trump used the power of the presidency to pressure officials at nearly every level of government to join his scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
Many were fellow Republicans who refused to help upend Joe Biden’s legitimate electoral victory in key battleground states — recognizing that what Trump was asking them to do was likely unconstitutional and potentially illegal.
The committee walked through how Trump’s White House attorneys, DOJ officials and then-Vice President Mike Pence’s team roundly rejected the legal theory put forward by conservative Trump attorney John Eastman that Pence could unilaterally block certification of the election.
According to witness testimony, Pence himself and Eastman, the lawyer who concocted the scheme advised Trump directly that the plan was unconstitutional and violated federal law. Committee members argued that this shows Trump’s corrupt intentions and could lay the groundwork for a potential indictment.
The committee has also detailed Trump’s attempts to enlist the DOJ in his efforts to claim the election was rigged and sought to replace his attorney general for not bending to his will.
Public testimony by former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and Donoghue, his deputy, and previous interviews with the committee underscored the lengths Trump was willing to go in order to overturn the election and how he may have succeeded if not for the courage of public servants like them willing to stand in his way.
Trump’s intentions were laid bare by Donoghue who recalled a 90-minute phone call in late December 2020 where Trump told him “just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen,” according to notes he shared with the committee.
Testimony from Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed that Trump knew protesters coming to the Capitol on January 6 were armed, and yet he wanted them to attend his rally and even join them at the Capitol.
When Trump was told armed individuals were not being let into his rally Hutchinson said he instructed staffers to “take the mags away” — referring to the metal detectors — because the people in the crowd were “not here to hurt [him].”
The committee also revealed a mix of witness testimony and White House records to show not only did Trump intend to join his supporters at the Capitol but also that people around Trump had advance knowledge of this plan.
Hutchinson also testified that Trump defended the rioters chanting for the hanging of Pence on Jan. 6.
Hutchinson relayed a conversation she observed between White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Meadows after they discussed with Trump the chants to inflict violence on Pence.
“I remember Pat saying something to the effect of ‘Mark, we need to do something more. They’re literally calling for the vice president to be f***ing hung,'” Hutchinson recalled.
Meadows replied, “You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong,” according to Hutchinson.
Instead of listening to advisers telling him to condemn the violence, Trump issued a tweet criticizing Pence for not having the courage to refuse to count electoral votes, which would have been illegal.
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