Jan. 6 Committee Announces Unexpected Hearing Tuesday

Topline

The January 6 committee on Monday announced it would hold its next public hearing on Tuesday after previously saying it would push back two hearings scheduled for this week as it gathers a flood of new evidence on the riots.

Key Facts

The select committee tasked with investigating the January 6 insurrection said it would hold a hearing at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday to share “recently obtained evidence” and to receive witness testimony, though it did not list any witnesses.

The news comes several days after the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said the committee would delay the next round of hearings until after the House’s two-week recess, which ends on July 11.

Thompson said the panel needed more time to go through new evidence uncovered in recent weeks, including footage from Alex Holder, a British documentarian who lawmakers subpoenaed after Holder gathered video footage of former President Donald Trump and his family during and leading up to the attack.

Key Background

The January 6 committee has presented a host of evidence and witness testimony during its four public hearings this month. The panel’s vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), said the last hearings would focus on Trump’s behavior before and during the insurrection, adding lawmakers might schedule another hearing to share new evidence. The committee is reviewing footage from Holder, who said last week he had complied with a request from the panel to share videos he captured of Trump and his allies as a part of a documentary titled “Unprecedented,” which focuses on the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election. The British documentarian said he interviewed Trump and others close to him, including his children and Vice President Mike Pence. To date, the House committee has shared testimony from several former Trump aides, including former Attorney General William Bar and former White House attorney Eric Herschmann. The panel has attempted to spotlight how Trump pressed officials, including Pence, to help overturn the election results.

What To Watch For

The final hearing will cover “what the president was doing, and more importantly, what he was not doing” as the Capitol was under attack, January 6 committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Further Reading

Jan. 6 panel adds last-minute hearing Tuesday afternoon (NBC)

The panel issued a subpoena for footage from the White House during the Capitol attack. (New York Times)

Jan. 6 Panel Delays Hearings Amid New Evidence—Including Tapes Of Trump Family (Forbes)