Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:12 EST
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The Jan. 6 Committee issued a subpoena for testimony from former President Donald Trump at its business meeting Thursday.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., offered the motion after members made a presentation on Trump's role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. The committee's vote was unanimous.
"We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th's key player," Cheney said.
"We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion," she added. "Every American is entitled to those answers so we can act now to protect our republic."
The committee was initially expected to hold a hearing on Thursday, during which it would not be able to take an action like a vote on a subpoena. But a last minute change to a "business meeting" allowed the committee to issue a subpoena aimed at compelling Trump's testimony.
The committee gaveled out of its meeting after the subpoena vote.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cheney showed many of the key players in Trump's effort to overturn the election pleading the Fifth before the vote to compel Trump's testimony, including Jeffrey Clark and Roger Stone.
Trump could fight the subpoena, which likely would tip off a legal fight with just over two months less in the current Congress -- a very short timeframe for such a major legal dispute. If Republicans take over the House in the midterms it's not expected they will continue the work of the Jan. 6 Committee.
There was an effort by Congress in the 1840s to subpoena former Presidents John Tyler and John Quincy Adams over clandestine intelligence issues. They never provided information.
There was also an effort by the Committee on Un-American activities to subpoena former President Harry Truman after he was out of office. He ultimately did not comply.
According to Fox News' Chad Pergram, if Trump does not appear or comply, the entire House could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress. Or, the House could even vote to hold him in inherent contempt.
Inherent contempt is where Congress doesn't go to DOJ, but instead executes its own authority to hold Trump accountable. "Regular contempt" would involve a criminal referral to the DOJ for prosecution.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:34 EST
Taylor Budowich, a spokesman for former President Donald Trump, responded to the January 6 Committee subpoena of Trump Thursday with a series of tweets.
"Today, 26 days before the Midterm Elections, America is truly a nation in decline. Inflation is out of control, the crime rate is at an all time high, and the crisis at our southern border has never been worse," Budowich said. "However, instead of using their final days in power to make life for Americans any better, Democrats are doubling and tripling down on their partisan theatrics."
Budowich added: "Pres Trump will not be intimidate by their meritless rhetoric or un-American actions. Trump-endorsed candidates will sweep the Midterms, and America First leadership & solutions will be restored. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:24 EST
The January 6 Committee Thursday played video of bipartisan lawmakers urging former President Donald Trump and his top officials to end the attack on the Capitol.
Then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. D-Calif., both urged former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to tell Trump to make a statement asking the riot to stop.
Party leaders including Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and others gathered around a phone to ask for military help.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., urged Trump to call off the mob, but Trump told him that the mob apparently wasn't as upset as he was, according to a story from Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.
Mick Mulvaney, former Trump's former chief of staff, corroborated Beutler's story in testimony to the committee.
"I had a conversation at some point in the day or week after the riot with Kevin McCarthy," Mulvaney said. "It was very similar to what Jamie had, the conversation she retold... I had a conversation similar to that with Kevin in the days or week after the riot."
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:03 EST
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Thursday said the Jan. 6 Committee will recall witnesses about an allegation former Mark Meadows aide made about former President Donald Trump allegedly lunging at a Secret Service agent who would not drive him to the Capitol after his rally on the Ellipse.
Aguilar also said it was investigating potential "obstruction" related to the allegation.
At a hearing earlier this year, Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson recounted a conversation she had with former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato in the wake of Trump's Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse during questioning from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
"The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. [Bobby] Engel grabbed his arm, said, ‘Sir, you need take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We're not going to the Capitol," Hutchinson continued. "Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel. When Mr. Ornato had recounted this story to me he motioned towards his clavicles."
A source close to Ornato told Fox News' David Spunt after Hutchinson's testimony that Ornato was shocked when Hutchinson made the allegation about the steering wheel. That source said both Ornato and Engel would be willing to testify to the committee to refute that part of Hutchinson's story.
Aguilar Thursday said the committee has additional information on the alleged incident.
"After concluding its review of the voluminous additional Secret Service communications from January 5th and January 6th, the committee will be recalling witnesses and conducting further investigative depositions based on that material. Following that activity, we will provide even greater detail in our final report."
Aguilar also said that the committee is "reviewing testimony regarding potential obstruction... including testimony about advice given not to tell the committee about this specific topic."
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:30 EST
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Thursday that documents obtained from the Secret Service from on and around Jan. 6 indicate that it was well aware of the possibility of violence that day.
"'It felt like the calm before the storm,' one agent predicted," Schiff said.
"On the morning of the 6th, agents received alerts of online threats that Vice President Pence would be, quote, 'a dead man walking if he doesn't do the right thing,'" Schiff also said.
Schiff added: "By the time [Trump] incited that angry mob to march on the Capitol, he knew they were armed and dangerous. All the better to stop the peaceful transfer of power."
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:24 EST
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The Jan. 6 Committee Thursday changed its planned "hearing" into a "business meeting" shortly before the event, opening up the possibility that it could take a vote after members are done presenting their findings.
Just because the hearing is a business meeting doesn't mean it will vote on any actions. But holding a business meeting instead of a hearing opens up that possibility.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:08 EST
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During Thursday's hearing, the committee highlighted the ties that Roger Stone, a top political ally of former President Donald Trump, had with extremist groups that breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“Roger Stone maintained extensive, direct connections to two groups responsible for violently attacking the Capitol: the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said.
Stone, a key figure involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, reportedly received security protection from a top member of the Oath Keepers. That individual later pled guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of Congress related to the Jan. 6 incident.
Lofgren also said they had received phone records and other documents showing Stone was in contact with Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:06 EST
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., a member of the House Jan. 6 Committee, said Thursday that former President Donald Trump clearly knew his false claims about the 2020 presidential election were not based in facts, yet continued to make them anyways.
Luria slammed, "purposeful lies made in public directly at odds with what Donald Trump knew from unassailable sources, the Justice Department's own investigations and his own campaign."
Luria added: "Donald Trump maliciously repeated this nonsense to a wide audience over and over again. His intent was to deceive."
Luria highlighted that many of Trump's top advisers repeatedly told the president that his claims were false.
"I went into this and would, you know, tell them how crazy some of these allegations were and how ridiculous some of them were," former Attorney General Bill Barr told the committee. "There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were."
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:58 EST
Former President Donald Trump signed a memo in the wake of the 2020 presidential election for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan and Somalia, according to witnesses who testified before the Jan. 6 Committee.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said the order -- which would have taken troops out of the two nations before then President-elect Joe Biden was sworn in -- was a sign that Trump understood he lost the presidential election.
"Knowing that he had lost and that he had only weeks left in office, President Trump rushed to complete his unfinished business," Kinzinger said. "Trump issued an order for large scale U.S. troop withdrawals. He disregarded concerns about the consequences for fragile governments on the front lines of the fight against ISIS and al-Qaida terrorists. Knowing he was leaving office, he acted immediately and signed this order on November 11th which would have required the immediate withdrawal of troops from Somalia and Afghanistan -- all to be complete before the Biden inauguration. on January 20th."
Military witnesses said they believed Trump's plan was highly reckless and would have been a debacle -- just as President Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal was. The committee did not detail why the order was never carried out.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:42 EST
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According to the Jan. 6 Committee, former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told lawmakers that former President Donald Trump was planning months before the 2020 presidential election to falsely claim victory, even if Joe Biden won.
"He told us he understood that President Trump planned as early as July, that he would say he won the election even if he lost," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said at the committee's Thursday meeting.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:36 EST
Advisers to former Vice President Mike Pence were concerned that former President Donald Trump would prematurely declare victory in the 2020 presidential election, even if it was clear he was losing.
Former White House lawyer Greg Jacob, in video testimony to the committee, said Pence Chief of Staff Marc Short was trying to ensure Pence was not put in a position to look like he was spreading false claims about the election.
"There was a possibility that there would be a declaration of victory within the White House that some might push for," Jacob said of a conversation he had with Short. "He was trying to figure out a way of avoiding the vice president sort of being thrust into a position of needing to opine on that when he might have sufficient information to do so."
Jacob later said in a memo that, "it is essential that the vice president not be perceived by the public as having decided questions concerning disputed electoral votes prior to the full development of all relevant facts."
Meanwhile, a memo from Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton regarding Trump's election night appeared to show plan to declare victory on election night, saying there was an "Election Day deadline" to count votes -- although there is no such thing.
Former Trump adviser Roger Stone also in video played by the committee appeared to say Trump planned to declare victory on election night no matter what.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:20 EST
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House Jan. 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Thursday that his committee has not ruled out trying to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify.
"We have not ruled out a subpoena," Thompson said, according to Fox News Kelly Phares.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:19 EST
The top two members of the House Jan. 6 Committee said its Thursday meeting will show former President Donald Trump's "state of mind" before, during and after the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. Those members, including Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Trump never believed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
"Donald Trump knew he lost. Despite this knowledge, Donald Trump went to court to contest the 2020 election and he lost in court," Thompson said. "The Electoral College met and declared Joe Biden the winner. Yet Donald Trump continued to pull out all the stops in his attempt to stay in power."
"What did President Trump know? What was he told?" Thompson added. "What was his personal and substantial role in a multipart plan to overturn the election?"
"We will focus on President Trump's state of mind, his intent, his motivations, and how he spurred others to do his bidding," committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said.
"Trump had a premeditated plan to declare that the election was fraudulent and stolen before Election Day. Before he knew the election results, he made his stolen election claims... Then over the next two months, he south to find those who would help him invent and spread lies about widespread fraud."
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:06 EST
The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol is relying on a cache of electronic documents from the U.S. Secret Service to recreate former President Donald Trump’s mindset leading up to the incident.
At least one million electronic communications, including emails from Secret Service personnel, were handed over to the committee as part of its probe. The communications are key to the committee’s attempt to recreate Trump’s state of mind leading up to and during the incident, despite that members of the Secret Service have not been asked to testify directly.
According to Fox News' Kelly Phares, Jan. 6 Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said before the hearing that "everybody can judge for themselves" how bad the messages will make the Secret Service look.
"We're going to bring a particular focus on the former president's state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded," a committee aide said. "What you're going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we've already presented with new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump's centrality was key."
Members of the committee plan to argue that Trump knew that the protests by supporters against the results of the 2020 election could turn violent. They also will attempt to tie the former president and his staff to extremist groups that breached the Capitol.
Trump has not only rejected overtures to testify before the panel, but has urged top allies and former White House staff to do likewise.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:02 EST
The House January 6 Committee Thursday afternoon began what may be its final hearing, with the end of the current Congress imminent and a possible GOP majority coming after the midterms.
Thursday's hearing is expected to focus on former President Donald Trump's state of mind during the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. It will also include a preview of the committee's final report.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 12:56 EST
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House Republicans have finalized a report outlining the intelligence and security failures that occurred during the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Aides close to GOP leadership told Fox News Digital the report will be public later this year. The timing has yet to be determined as the GOP document is meant to serve as a rebuttal to the final report by the House select committee investigating the riot.
Republicans say their report will showcase the security and intelligence failures leading up to Jan. 6. They argue Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had sufficient forewarning the protests could become tense, but refused to take appropriate action to fortify the Capitol.
GOP lawmakers are eager to provide a rebuttal to the House January 6 committee, which is made up of seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans. Last year, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., opted to boycott the proceedings after Pelosi rejected the lawmakers he sought to appoint to the select committee.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 11:57 EST
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Thursday's hearing for the January 6 Committee will be its ninth in 2022 and its 10th overall, Fox News' Chad Pergram reports.
The committee's first hearing was in July 2021, shortly after its creation, which included testimony from witnesses of the attack on the Capitol -- including Capitol Police officers.
The first hearing this year was a primetime event on June 9. The most recent hearing was in late July.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 08:32 EST
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The House Jan. 6 committee will hold a hearing Thursday focusing on former President Donald Trump's state of mind leading up to the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, despite not receiving testimony during the panel's 15-month tenure from the ex-commander-in-chief or top associates linked to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
A committee aide told Fox News Digital that Thursday's hearing would not include live witnesses but rather showcase new evidence from U.S. Secret Service records and testimony as well as video of efforts to respond to the violence in real time.
"We're going to bring a particular focus on the former president's state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded," said the aide. "What you're going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we've already presented with new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump's centrality was key."
The committee will try to recreate the former president's state of mind leading up to and during the riot, despite his refusal to cooperate with the committee. Trump has not only rejected overtures to testify before the panel, but he has called on allies and former staffs to do likewise.
To read more from Fox News' Haris Alic, click here
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 02:36 EST
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, said the January 6 Select Committee will unveil details that she found "pretty surprising" during Thursday's public hearing.
The committee hearing is expected to summarize the influence of former President Trump, who Lofgren criticized as someone who used claims about the legitimacy of the November 2020 election to "destabilize" the U.S.
“He has used this big lie to destabilize our democracy,” said Lofgren. “When did that idea occur to him and what did he know while he was doing that?”
Thursday's committee will not include witnesses, though some testimony will be shared and new video footage will be shown.
The committee plans to show new video footage it received from the Secret Service of the rally on the White House Ellipse, where Trump discredited the election results and told his supporters to “fight like hell.”
“We’re going to make sure that everything is taken care of,” Lofgren added.
The hearing also will include new documentary footage captured from the day of the attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 02:08 EST
U.S. Capitol Police investigated a letter with "concerning language" that was addressed to January 6th Committee Chairman Benny Thompson, D-Miss. The incident took place Tuesday, days before the committee was set to hold its final hearing.
After initial reports that a "suspicious substance" was being investigating, Capitol Police later said that powder was not found inside the letter.
"This afternoon Congressional staff inside the Rayburn House Office Building reported that they received a letter with concerning language. We just screened it and determined it not to have anything dangerous inside. Powder was not found inside," the statement read.
Offices in the Rayburn House Office Building near Thompson's were told to shelter in place, and around six police officers were seen outside Thompson's door. The offices were reopened later that same day.
For more on the story, click here: Capitol Police reacted to possible 'suspicious substance' found in Rep. Bennie Thompson's office
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 01:34 EST
The two Republican lawmakers on the Jan. 6th Committee, Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, will be making their final appearances during Thursday's session as they are leaving Congress.
Cheney lost a primary election to continue representing Wyoming's at-large congressional district, a position she has held since 2017, while Kinzinger decided not to seek reelection.
Both Republicans have been ostracized by the Republican Party, in part due to their participation in the committee. They have also both been targets of criticism from former President Donald Trump.
Thursday's session is also set to take place while most lawmakers are at home campaigning for reelection.
Unlike past hearings, this one is not expected to feature live witnesses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 01:35 EST
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House January 6th committee intends to present its final summation of information it has managed to collect in 15 months, including transcripts of more than 1,000 interviews and millions of other documents.
The committee, composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has focused its investigative efforts on former President Donald J. Trump's role in allegedly facilitating the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On its potential final hearing on Thursday, the committee intends to show how statements from Trump regarding the November 2020 election and alleged widespread voter fraud may have provoked the riot.
Following its investigation, the committee will attempt to preserve its findings and make them publicly available.
Sachsman Grooms, a former Democratic investigator for the House Oversight and Reform Committee who worked on both of Trump’s impeachments, said this preservation process could take several months.
“It will require some careful planning in the months ahead,” Grooms said.
“Like any investigative committee, I’m sure that the chair will also be balancing his interest in creating a historical, public record with any commitments that the committee has made during its investigation to protect sensitive information, such as the identities of whistleblowers, from exposure and potential retaliation,” Grooms added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:58 EST
The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will start Thursday's hearing at 1 p.m. ET.
The hearing could be the final hearing.
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