Post by Admin on Jul 22, 2022 17:16:37 GMT
Thursday’s primetime hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol shined an unflattering light on then-President Donald Trump’s reaction to the violent riot waged by his supporters.
Committee members Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., walked viewers through a minute-by-minute recap of how Trump spent the hours that the riot raged, relying heavily on testimony from a variety of witnesses who were in the White House that day, including former national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, both of whom testified in person on Capitol Hill.
The gripping presentation focused on the 187 minutes between the end of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech at the Ellipse, south of the White House, at around 1:10 p.m., and when he finally released a videotaped statement, at 4:17 p.m., in which he grudgingly urged his supporters to leave the Capitol.
A video of former President Donald Trump is played on a screen above seated members of the Jan. 6 select committee and dozens of other people at tables before them.
A video of Donald Trump is played on a screen at the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Thursday. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)
Kinzinger and Luria made the case that the violent attack on the Capitol was the culmination of Trump’s multistep effort to remain in power despite having lost the 2020 election, and that his failure to call off the mob intent on blocking the certification of the Electoral College votes showing Joe Biden had won was a deliberate choice.
By effectively delaying the electoral vote count by several hours, Kinzinger said, “the mob was accomplishing President Trump’s purpose, so of course he did not intervene.”
“On Jan. 6, when lives and our democracy hung in the balance, President Trump refused to act because of his selfish desire to stay in power,” said Luria.
Using a combination of live and videotaped testimony, text messages sent by Trump allies, and phone transcripts from those demanding that Trump call off his supporters, the committee filled in the gaps on how Trump spent that fateful afternoon on Jan. 6. Here are some of the most shocking revelations.
A slide shown during the hearing on Thursday. (House TV via Reuters video)
Inaction at the Capitol
A slide with text that reads: Former White House employee interview. (Quote) The president didn't want anything done.
Luria said the committee’s investigation found that Trump knew the Capitol was under attack within 15 minutes of leaving the stage following his rally at the Ellipse. And yet, she said, from 1:25 p.m. until shortly after 4 p.m., he remained in the White House dining room watching the siege unfold on Fox News.
Committee members Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., walked viewers through a minute-by-minute recap of how Trump spent the hours that the riot raged, relying heavily on testimony from a variety of witnesses who were in the White House that day, including former national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, both of whom testified in person on Capitol Hill.
The gripping presentation focused on the 187 minutes between the end of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech at the Ellipse, south of the White House, at around 1:10 p.m., and when he finally released a videotaped statement, at 4:17 p.m., in which he grudgingly urged his supporters to leave the Capitol.
A video of former President Donald Trump is played on a screen above seated members of the Jan. 6 select committee and dozens of other people at tables before them.
A video of Donald Trump is played on a screen at the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Thursday. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)
Kinzinger and Luria made the case that the violent attack on the Capitol was the culmination of Trump’s multistep effort to remain in power despite having lost the 2020 election, and that his failure to call off the mob intent on blocking the certification of the Electoral College votes showing Joe Biden had won was a deliberate choice.
By effectively delaying the electoral vote count by several hours, Kinzinger said, “the mob was accomplishing President Trump’s purpose, so of course he did not intervene.”
“On Jan. 6, when lives and our democracy hung in the balance, President Trump refused to act because of his selfish desire to stay in power,” said Luria.
Using a combination of live and videotaped testimony, text messages sent by Trump allies, and phone transcripts from those demanding that Trump call off his supporters, the committee filled in the gaps on how Trump spent that fateful afternoon on Jan. 6. Here are some of the most shocking revelations.
A slide shown during the hearing on Thursday. (House TV via Reuters video)
Inaction at the Capitol
A slide with text that reads: Former White House employee interview. (Quote) The president didn't want anything done.
Luria said the committee’s investigation found that Trump knew the Capitol was under attack within 15 minutes of leaving the stage following his rally at the Ellipse. And yet, she said, from 1:25 p.m. until shortly after 4 p.m., he remained in the White House dining room watching the siege unfold on Fox News.