One of the most powerful was former Attorney General Bill Barr, who made it clear to Trump that he believed his allegations of a stolen election were “shit.”
“I made it clear that I didn’t agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and posting this stuff, that I told the president it was shit,” Barr recalled telling Trump.
“I didn’t want to be a part of it, and that’s one of the reasons I decided what to do.”
Barr’s views were backed by Trump’s favorite daughter, Ivanka, who served as the president’s special adviser.
“I respect Attorney General Barr. So I accepted what he said,” he told the committee in a video recording.
Tonight’s opening also included several new revelations from Cheney and Democratic President Bennie Thompson, who said they would materialize in new audiences over the coming weeks.
Among the most damning was that the committee had received a testimony that when Trump learned of threats from his supporters to hang Vice President Mike Pence, he said, “Maybe our supporters have the right idea” and that Pence “s’ he deserves it. “
The committee also played a video montage of the riot itself, highlighting some of its most dramatic moments, including the key role of right-wing militia group Proud Boys, whose leader Enrique Tarrio has since been charged with his role in the attack.
This came in the context of the September 2020 presidential debate in which Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to “love and be on the sidelines.”
As part of tonight’s tests, the committee showed a post that Tarrio posted to Parler shortly after that statement, which read, “Stand up, sir.”
Two key witnesses also provided new evidence: U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during the attack, as well as documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who was integrated with the Proud Boys that day and had a first-hand account of how the crowd transformed “from protesters, to rioters, to rioters.”
Caroline Edwards, a U.S. Capitol police officer injured in the January 6 riots. Credit: Bloomberg
Images of Edwards guarding a barricade on the edge of the Capitol Lawn were reproduced, along with several other officers, none of whom were carrying riot gear.
Minutes later, as the crowd advanced, Edwards was pushed back and his head hit the concrete steps of the process.
Donald Trump spoke as rioters broke into the United States Capitol.
“Never in my wildest dream did I think as a police officer, as a law enforcement officer, that I would find myself in the middle of a battle,” he told the committee.
“It was something I had seen in the movies. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were agents on the floor, they were bleeding, vomiting, they had the blood of friends on their faces … It was a carnage, it was to be a mess ”.
The session was the first of at least six public hearings to be held in the coming weeks before a final report is released in September, two months before the midterm elections.
However, any criminal activity discovered must be referred to the Department of Justice headed by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Loading
In a sign of the heartbreaking policy surrounding the Trump era, Committee Vice President Cheney issued a warning to her fellow Republicans, who voted to remove her from her leadership position in the House: “Tonight, I say this to my fellow Republicans who defend the indefensible: “There will come a day when Donald Trump leaves, but your disgrace will continue.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have already tried to characterize the audience as illegitimate and have tried to focus on Biden’s political problems.
“Democrats are using January 6 to prevent accountability for the worst inflation since 1981, record gasoline prices that have doubled since Biden took office, historic crime and open borders.” , said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.