Seventeen months after the pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the select committee of the January 6 House is preparing to test whether the revelations of that day still have the capacity to shock the American public.
Overview: Thursday’s Watergate-style prime-time audience will be the first of a number of meticulously crafted events produced in part by James Goldston, the former president of ABC News and a master narrator. of documentaries.
- The hearings will combine elements of Trump’s first and second dismissal hearings: a combination of keynote testimony, creepy new video footage, and committee members exposing his case in televised speeches, sources familiar with the planning told Axios .
- British documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who joined the far-right Proud Boys, even during the group’s private meetings before the uprising, will testify on Thursday, the committee announced this evening. So will Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards, who suffered a concussion after being assaulted on January 6.
What we are seeing
1. Whether the committee creates a direct link between former President Trump and the attack on the Capitol, and demonstrates a premeditated plot to disrupt the certification of the 2020 elections.
- MP Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Has said the committee has evidence of Trump’s involvement in “much more” than just “incitement” – and that the revelations from the hearings “would blow the House ceiling”.
- The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Secret Service agents fought to secure a caravan route on Jan. 6 so Trump could accompany his supporters as they march toward Congress, although DC police eventually rejected the plan. .
2. New allegations or evidence of delinquency.
- The Jan. 6 committee has no power to prosecute, but investigators have gathered heaps of potential evidence over more than 1,000 depositions and interviews.
- The Justice Department has reportedly asked the committee for transcripts of closed-door interviews, including some with Trump associates.
3. Any discussion on legislative reforms to avoid another January 6th.
- Axios reported that the committee is divided privately on whether to recommend the abolition of the Electoral College, a proposal that Republicans have used as evidence of their alleged partisanship.
4. Valuations.
- Nearly every major news and cable news network, except Fox News, will have live coverage of the audience, which is breaking the mold of past Congress shows by airing at prime time.
- Landmarks: James Comey’s testimony in June 2017 (19.5 million viewers); Brett Kavanaugh hearing in September 2018 (20 million); the first day of Trump’s first impeachment hearing in November 2019 (13 million); first day of Trump’s second trial for dismissal in February 2021 (11 million).
The view from the White House
The White House plans to leave the January 6 message on the Hill, a White House official told Axios.
- Biden officials see hearings as congressional territory and are wary of injecting political messages into an ongoing independent investigation that could lead to law enforcement or additional criminal investigation, a second source familiar with the case said. White House planning.
- That would give Trump and his allies a chance to allege that Biden is politicizing the investigation for his own political ends, the source added.
- White House officials also believe the president’s voice should not be used to provide current comments on the day-to-day procedural developments of the investigation.
- It should be reserved for key moments, they argue, noting the president’s statements on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Capitol bombing.
The Biden administration is also taking great care to avoid the perception that the president is politicizing the DOJ.
- If Attorney General Merrick Garland finally decides to take action against former Trump officials, they don’t want to give Republicans any fodder to muddy the waters or undermine the White House’s credibility.