What to expect from the 8th Jan. 6 hearing
In its 8th and supposedly final scheduled hearing Thursday night, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will examine how former President Donald Trump spent the 187 minutes that passed between the end of this speech at the Ellipse and his video message to rioters telling them to go home.
The panel is also expected to hone in on the argument that Trump had the power to stop the riot but chose not to, as well as play clips of testimony from others who tried to intervene that day.
Two former Trump White House officials are slated to testify in person — former National Security Council member Matthew Pottinger and short-lived Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Matthews — while Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) will lead. Committee chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), will participate remotely after testing positive for COVID-19.
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Though Thursday's hearing was initially intended to be the committee's last, the group has since "continued to collect new evidence," and thus "hinted" at the possibility of additional proceedings, writes The New York Times.
Tonight's events will begin at 8 p.m. ET, and can be streamed live on YouTube.
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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