In eight hearings, the Jan. 6 committee has examined strategies meant to keep President Trump in power, from pressuring the vice president to stoking anger that culminated in the riot at the Capitol.
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By Zach Montague
- Oct. 13, 2022, 11:34 a.m. ET
With just 26 days until the midterm elections, the House Select Committee on Thursday is expected to attempt the difficult task of summarizing all of its eight previous hearings while presenting new findings in a finale designed to bring its many months of work toward a timely conclusion.
The committee’s hearings so far have looked at ways that President Donald J. Trump and his allies attempted to reverse his loss in the 2020 election — an effort that at various points touched everyone from his own vice president to state election officials, the Justice Department, and supporters who traveled to Washington and formed the mob that attacked the Capitol. In what may be the committee’s final hearing, topics it has raised in past hearings may come up again. Here’s a look back:
Capturing the Violence
June 9
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Representatives Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, and Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, led the first Jan. 6 hearing, which included testimony from a Capitol police officer and a documentary filmmaker.CreditCredit…Kenny Holston for The New York Times
The committee’s first hearing provided an introduction to its investigative efforts as well as a reminder of the raw violence that occurred on Jan. 6, nearly a year and a half before the committee’s first public hearing.
The committee did not shy away from some of the most violent moments, with dramatic footage of the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, forcing their way past police and into the building, as well as testimony from a Capitol Police officer who suffered a brain injury while defending against the mob.
Through interviews with former Attorney General William P. Barr, former aides to Mr. Trump, and even his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, the committee sought to show that many in Mr. Trump’s orbit were keenly aware that he had lost the election.
Embracing False Claims
June 13
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The second hearing included video testimony from some of Donald J. Trump’s closest allies, who said they had repeatedly told the former president that his “big lie” about electoral fraud was baseless.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
The second hearing continued to drill down into Mr. Trump’s state of mind after his 2020 election loss, with former advisers such as his campaign chairman, Bill Stepien, and Mr. Barr each testifying that Mr. Trump had consistently rejected their view that he had lost and that should stop repeating baseless claims of election fraud.
The committee focused on the chaotic days after the election when competing camps in the White House, which Mr. Stepien described as “Team Normal” and “Team Crazy,” vied for Mr. Trump’s attention with opposing views about how he should handle his election defeat. Much of the evidence presented indicated that Mr. Trump sided with those urging him to contest the results and continue efforts to remain in power.
Pressuring the Vice President
June 16
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President Trump continued his pressure campaign to get former Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral College results, even after he was told it was illegal.CreditCredit…Kenny Holston for The New York Times
The committee’s third hearing turned to the pressure campaign on Vice President Mike Pence to go along with increasingly outlandish legal strategies aimed at helping Mr. Trump remain in power.
The committee homed in on the advice of a law professor, John Eastman, whose ideas were embraced by Mr. Trump and some of his allies, and included a legally dubious framework for how Mr. Pence could manipulate the outcome of the election.
Evidence presented at the hearing also highlighted how alarmed Mr. Pence’s aides had grown about the situation, and how close they came to coming face-to-face with outraged supporters of Mr. Trump who stormed the Capitol before Mr. Pence could certify the election results.
Embracing Alternate Electors
June 21
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The committee showed evidence that President Trump was directly involved in trying to put forward the alternate slates of Trump electors that he hoped would replace legitimate electors awarded to Joseph R. Biden Jr.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
In its forth hearing, the committee looked outside Washington to show how Mr. Trump and his allies worked to pressure Republican officials in swing states to overturn his electoral losses.
This part of the committee’s investigation centered on a scheme to name alternate slates of electors in states that would alter the electoral vote tally and produce a win for Mr. Trump in the Electoral College.
Committee members drew on testimony from several state officials who received threats of violence for pushing back against the plan.
Testing the Justice Department
June 23
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The Jan. 6 committee painted a picture of how President Trump schemed to pressure the Justice Department into overturning the 2020 election.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
Next, the committee set its sights on the Justice Department and the efforts by Mr. Trump to persuade officials there to interfere in the election — or install loyalists who were willing to.
The committee drew on testimony suggesting that Mr. Trump determinedly urged senior officials to publicly depict the election as hopelessly riddled with fraud, paving the way for others to take steps to overturn Mr. Trump’s loss.
A White House Insider Speaks
June 28
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Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to the former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, revealed new details about the actions of President Trump and his allies before, during and after the riot.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
Stunning testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mr. Trump’s then chief of staff, Mark Meadows, came to define the committee’s surprise sixth hearing.
Ms. Hutchinson described Mr. Trump’s fixation on remaining in power in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol, and detailed the chaotic hours before the riot. During that time, she testified, Trump planned to join the rioters arriving at the Capitol building. The committee is expected to return to those moments during its hearing on Thursday.
Stoking Resentment
July 12
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The panel presented new evidence on President Trump’s attempts to hold on to power and build momentum around events planned for Jan. 6, 2021, after legal challenges to the 2020 election results had been exhausted.CreditCredit…Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
The committee’s seventh hearing focused on the various channels through which Mr. Trump and his inner circle led supporters to believe that the election had been stolen, and attempted to stir up popular opposition to the election result after a range of legal strategies to overturn the outcome sputtered.
Committee members made the case that Mr. Trump and his allies sought to stir up public resentment, culminating in the events of Jan. 6, after it appeared that few other options remained for Mr. Trump to stay in power.
Refusing to Concede
July 21
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The committee documented President Trump’s inaction in calling off the mob during the 187 minutes after rioters descended on the Capitol.CreditCredit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
In its most recent hearing, the committee unveiled outtakes of a speech in which Mr. Trump came close to publicly accepting the election results and chastising those who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mr. Trump ultimately refused to declare the election over, and released a watered-down version.
The video helped encapsulate the committee’s central conclusion, presented in pieces throughout much of the summer: Mr. Trump personally precipitated the anger among his supporters that led to the riot and never relented in refusing to concede the election — even amid the threat of widespread, real-world violence.
Source: nytimes.com
