His post followed a unanimous vote by the select committee members during a Thursday afternoon public hearing. Their vote instructed Chair Bennie Thompson to issue a subpoena for “relevant documents and testimony under oath from Donald J. Trump in connection with the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.”
Referring to the subpoena plans by the select committee, which Trump calls the “unselect committee,” Trump wrote, “Why didn’t the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago? Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total ‘BUST’ that has only served to further divide our Country which, by the way, is doing very badly - A laughing stock all over the World?”
A few minutes later, Trump commented further on the select committee’s activities: “The Unselect Committee knowingly failed to examine the massive voter fraud which took place during the 2020 Presidential Election - The reason for what took place on January 6th.”
Throughout the hearing, several articles were posted by Trump’s Truth Social account. Some addressed current inflation rates under President Joe Biden’s administration, others were about allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election, and some speculated about the National Archives and Records Administration in the wake of the FBI’s August search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
One post contained a video that began by posing two questions: “Why does the unselect committee never talk about the peaceful crowd at the enormous January 6th speech? Or the overwhelming evidence of election fraud?”
The video, which is nearly two minutes long, includes video clips of on-air reporters saying segments from Trump’s speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 before the riot began “always leave out” his comment to the crowd about marching “peacefully and patriotically” to the U.S. Capitol Building. It also includes clips of Trump asking supporters why the select committee was not investigating election fraud but instead investigating people who “want to get to the bottom of a rigged and stolen election.”
The video ends with a message that reads, “The sham committee is ignoring the truth.”
“We hope we we get his attention, fine” Thompson told reporters at the Capitol after the hearing ended Thursday. “If not, we’ll go with the evidence we collected.”
Thompson said he Trump honors the request to testify in person, “as a former president.”
When asked if he really thinks Trump will honor the request to testify, given his record of fighting subpoenas, Thompson said, “the best thing I can tell you on that, is ask Donald Trump,”
There is no subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence, Thompson added.
He said after reviewing the evidence, there is “no doubt Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of Jan. 6.”
“[Trump] is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on January 6,” Thompson said. “We want to hear from him.”
The need for this committee to hear from Trump goes beyond fact-finding, Thompson said, it is a question about “accountability to the American people.”
He said Trump is required to answer for his action and to the police officers risking their lives to preserve democracy that day and to “those millions of American whose votes he wanted to throw out” in an attempt to stay in power.
Thompson said it is the Committee’s “obligation” to seek Trump’s testimony, adding that there is precedent for Congress to compel testimony from a president.
While Thompson acknowledges that subpoenaing a former president is an “extraordinary action,” he said that is why the Committee wants to do so “in full view of the American people” because of the importance of the subject matter and the high stakes for the country’s future and democracy.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming introduced the resolution at the end of Thursday’s public hearing. The resolution asked select committee members to vote on directing committee Chairman Bennie Thompson to issue a subpoena “for relevant documents and testimony under oath from Donald J. Trump in connection with the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.”
All nine members of the select committee voted in favor of adopting the resolution. After the initial vote, Cheney requested that a recorded vote take place. Thompson and Cheney again voted in favor of adopting the resolution, as did Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy, Jamie Raskin, Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger.
“The resolution is agreed to,” Thompson said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was shown being led away from the approaching rioters by members of her staff. Once Pelosi had reached a secure location, a phone conversation heard on speaker relayed information to Pelosi that then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had been led to safety.
Over the course of several minutes, video clips showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussing conversations with the Washington, D.C. mayor and the governor of Virginia about the local law enforcement response. The footage also showed the moment Pelosi learned that some people were putting on tear gas masks in anticipation of the Capitol being breached.
Pelosi could later be seen watching television footage of the rioters outside the Capitol, viewing footage of the building breach and telling people nearby that she had heard reports of one person being shot. In another clip, Schumer could be heard telling then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen that a statement needed to be made to get the rioters to leave.
Footage also showed Schumer, Pelosi, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Steny Hoyer gathered together and discussing plans for evacuation.
The House Jan. 6 Committee shared the clips on social media, writing that Republicans and Democrats alike were “actively working to address the violence.”
“All of them did what President Trump refused to do,” the select committee wrote.
Committee member Rep. Peter Aguilar said there was advice given to witnesses to not tell the Committee about certain Secret Service communications and information regarding Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony.
This includes testimony about former President Donald Trump’s fight with the Secret Service over him going to the Capitol during the riots.
He said the Committee will address this matter in its final report.
“Real America can’t afford gas, groceries, or rent,” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio tweeted on Thursday afternoon. “When will the January 6th Committee address those issues?”
The Twitter account for House Judiciary Republicans shared Jordan’s tweet and questioned Americans’ interest in a potential Trump subpoena.
“America: ‘We just want cheap groceries.’ Democrats: ‘BUT WHAT IF WE SUBPOENA TRUMP.’ America: ‘Nah. We literally just want cheap groceries.’ Democrats: ‘TRUMP,’” the GOP tweet said.
Sources familiar with the Committee’s plan told several outlets, including the Associated Press, that the Committee plans to vote to subpoena Trump during the hearing today.
The select committee’s recess will last for about 10 minutes, Chairman Bennie Thompson said.
While text messages from the period leading up to and during the riot were erased, Schiff said the Committee reviewed nearly one million emails, recordings and other digital records.
Schiff said the evidence shows the Secret Service new there was a risk of violence directed at the U.S. Capitol before the rally on Jan. 6.
There was a CTS intelligence summary that indicated certain people were coming to D.C. with plans to attack the Capitol. There were calls to arm themselves, occupy federal buildings, invade the Capitol Building and engage in political violence.
On December 24, 2020, the Secret Service received an email titled “Armed and Ready Mr. President.”
The email indicated people were planning to target members of Congress, march into their chambers and “make sure they know who to fear.”
On the day before the riot, the FBI told the Secret Service that it found online posts indicating members of the Oath Keepers were “standing by at the ready should POTUS request assistance.”
Another tip the Secret Service received from the FBI indicated Proud Boys members planned to march armed to D.C., believing they could outnumber police “so they cannot be stopped.”
“Their plan is to literally kill people,” the tip said. “Please please take this tip seriously and investigate further.”
“Just fyi. POTUS is pissed — breaking news — Supreme Court denied his law suit. He is livid now,” the email said.
A copy of the email was shown during Thursday’s committee hearing. The email was dated December 11, 2020.
The courts and Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice appointees all rejected the former president’s allegations of election fraud, Kinzinger said.
“President Trump knew the truth. He heard what all his experts and senior staff were telling him. He knew he had lost the election. But he made the deliberate choice to ignore the courts, to ignore the Justice Department, to ignore his campaign leadership, to ignore senior advisors, and to pursue a completely unlawful effort to overturn the election,” Kinzinger said.
“His intent was plain: Ignore the rule of law and stay in power,” Kinzinger added.
This included video footage from a documentary showing Stone boasting that Trump won the election.
“I really do suspect it will still be up in the air,” he said. “When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory.”
Stone also said “f**k the voting, let’s get right to the violence.”
The Committee also shared a social media post Stone made admitting that he told Trump to in December, as Jan 6 preparations were underway.
Stone made a Parler post saying he told Trump to appoint a special counsel to “ensure those attempting to steal the 2020 election through voter fraud are charged and convicted and ensure Donald Trump continues as our president.”
Committee member Representative Zoe Lofgren also noted Stone’s connection to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
Members of those groups stormed the Capitol and were convicted of seditious conspiracy, meaning the use of violence against the United States and the opposition to the lawful authority of the United States, she said.
Lofgren also mentioned that Stone invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination during his deposition before the Committee.
Stone refused to answer whether he had any part in the planning of Jan. 6 or if he thought the violence was justified.
One email the select committee obtained showed conservative activist Tom Fitton sending a draft of a victory speech to Trump campaign officials. The email was dated October 31, 2020.
“We had an election today—and I won,” the draft speech said.
“The ballots counted by the Election Day deadline show the American people have bestowed on me the great honor of reelection to President of the United States.”
“Another January 6 can happen again if we do not take action to prevent it,” she said Thursday afternoon.
Cheney said it is not safe to assume that our Constitution or institutions “won’t falter.”
“Our institutions only hold when men and women of good faith make them hold, regardless of the political cost,” she said. She added, however, that we “have no guarantee that these men and women will be in place next time.”
Cheney said the Committee will make recommendations to “ensure any future attempt to overturn an election doesn’t succeed.” She said the Committee “may ultimately decide to make a series of criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.”
The federal government cannot only punish the “foot soldiers” who stormed the Capitol, but they need to hold former President Donald Trump and his co-conspirators accountable as well, she said, adding the Committee is focused on accountability.
Thompson said the hearing will be “grounded in facts,” as he said has been the case with prior hearings, but the select committee members will also “take a step back and look at the evidence in a broader context, providing a summary of key facts we’ve uncovered.”
The select committee will explore former President Donald Trump’s state of mind, motivation and intent leading up to the events on January 6, 2021, Thompson said.
Thompson said the bulk of evidence the select committee has presented thus far has been from Republican witnesses, including some who served under Trump, and will continue to present evidence from additional Republicans during today’s hearing. The new evidence presented today will include materials provided by the U.S. Secret Service, Thompson said.
It has not always been easy to get evidence or witness testimony for the select committee’s investigation, Thompson said.
“I want to be clear: Not all the witnesses were thrilled to talk to us. Some of them put up quite a fight,” he said.
Today’s hearing will also be different in that it will serve as a formal committee business meeting, Thompson said, meaning “in addition to presenting the evidence, we can potentially hold a committee vote on further investigative action based upon that evidence.”
Chairman Bennie Thompson is delivering his opening remarks outlining the goals of the Committee and the evidence that has been presented in past hearings so far.
This hearing will focus on former President Donald Trump’s “state of mind” leading up to and during Jan. 6, 2021, committee aides told reporters.
“What you’re going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we’ve already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to, let’s say, illustrate Donald Trump’s centrality from the time prior to the election,” an aide said.
The hearing is scheduled to last over two hours, as each committee members is expected to speak.
Unlike previous hearings, there are no panelists scheduled to provide live testimony. New witnesses testimony, documentary and other video footage will be shown. This includes new footage from Trump’s adviser Rodger Stone.
The aide also said there will be evidence shared from the Secret Service.
CNN’s Manu Raju reported that the Committee will show Secret Service messages that indicate they were aware of violent rhetoric government officials wrote on Parler. The messages will also show that the Secret Service was aware people in the crowd on Jan. 6 had weapons.
Thursday’s hearing was initially scheduled to happen at the end of September, but it was postponed due to the arrival of Hurricane Ian.
In a Wednesday post on Twitter, the select committee recalled how it began presenting its findings four months ago on what occurred before, during and after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. For Thursday’s hearing, the select committee said its members will “present the key facts we’ve uncovered during our investigation.”
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. It will stream live on the select committee’s website and YouTube channel, or watch live below:
