The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol held its final public meeting on Monday and made unprecedented criminal referrals against former President Trump.
The panel heard from more than 1,000 witnesses, gone over millions of pages of documents and held nine public hearings as part of its year-plus investigation into what happened when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results and what led to that day.
The committee spent more than a year making the case that Trump was squarely at the center of efforts to overturn the election and was ultimately responsible for the deadly riot.
On Monday, the nine lawmakers voted unanimously to recommend the Justice Department file criminal charges against Trump and others, following a presentation of its findings.
Read below for a recounting of the business meeting from The Hill reporters.
Full stories on today’s committee meeting:
- Five takeaways as Jan. 6 panel criminally refers Trump
- Jan. 6 committee launches ethics complaint against McCarthy, other GOP lawmakers
- Jan. 6 committee unveils criminal referrals against Trump
- Read: Jan. 6 panel report executive summary
- Jan. 6 chair ‘convinced’ DOJ will charge Trump
- Hope Hicks, other officials and advisers warned Trump about election fraud claims
- Raskin likens House GOP defending Trump over Jan. 6 to bank robbers
Panel releases summary of findings
The select House committee exploring the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Monday released the executive summary of its findings.
It is set to release the full report on Wednesday.
Committee concludes final business meeting
The panel has gaveled out of Monday’s meeting, the committee’s final public meeting in its months-long investigation.
The meeting lasted for 69 minutes.
—Zach Schonfeld
Committee approves final report
The committee has unanimously adopted their final report as they wrapped up Monday’s business meeting.
— Zach Schonfeld
Raskin says other statutes ‘potentially relevant’
After unveiling four criminal referrals for former President Trump, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) suggested prosecutors may want to consider other statutes as well in their investigation of Trump.
“These are not the only statutes that are potentially relevant to President Trump’s conduct,” Raskin said.
— Zach Schonfeld
Panel unveils criminal referrals of Trump
The committee just unveiled a number of criminal referrals targeting former President Trump for his actions related to the Capitol riot.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the subcommittee, walked the public through the statues and evidence backing up the claim. Statutes include Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Make a False Statement; and “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid or Comfort” an Insurrection
“We propose to the committee advancing referrals where the gravity of the specific offense, the severity of its actual harm, and the centrality of the offender to the overall design of the unlawful scheme to overthrow the election compel us to speak,” Raskin said. “Ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass.”
Read more about the referral here.
-Mychael Schnell
Luria details Trump’s 187-minute ‘dereliction of duty’
Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) in her opening statement detailed the 187 minutes between the start of the Jan. 6 riot and Trump’s eventual attempt to diffuse tensions by sharing a video message to rioters.
Trump “watched it on television” as the mob descended on the Capitol, Luria said, flouting pleas from advisers and even his own children.
Luria said the president “actively disregarded his constitutional obligation to take care that the laws are faithfully executed” with his inaction.
“President Trump lit the flame. He poured gasoline on the fire and sat by in the White House dining room hours watching the fire burn. And today, still continues to fan those flames. That is his extreme dereliction of duty,” Luria said.
— Julia Mueller
Kellyanne Conway details conversation with Trump on Jan. 7
The committee played testimony of former Trump White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway indicating she spoke with Trump on the day following the Capitol attack.
“I don’t think it was very long, I just said that was just a terrible day, I’m working on a long statement. I said it’s crazy,” Conway said.
Conway said Trump responded, “No, these people are upset, they’re very upset.”
— Zach Schonfeld
Murphy: Trump ‘galvanized domestic violent extremists’
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said in her opening statement that former President Trump “galvanized domestic violent extremists” with a Tweet urging people to come to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
He then ignored advice from White House aides to beseeched him to tell his supporters to be peaceful that day.
And, “despite having knowledge of threats of violence,” Trump gave an “incendiary speech” on Jan. 6 repeating his claims the 2020 election had been stolen, Murphy said.
As she delivered her statement, Murphy displayed text messages between Trump aides and played clips of testimony.
Kinzinger says Trump waged ‘pressure campaign’ against DOJ
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) outlined former President Trump’s “pressure campaign” against the Department of Justice as he tried to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s of the utmost importance that our Department of Justice operates as a fair and neutral body that enforces our federal laws without fear and without favor,” Kinzinger said.
“It is this critical function that President Trump sought to corrupt as he sought to use the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute purported election fraud and to help him convince the public that the election was stolen,” he said.
Kinzinger also detailed Trump’s efforts to install former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark as the acting attorney general after William Barr’s resignation from the office.
— Julia Mueller
Kinzinger: White House counsel called Clark letter ‘murder-suicide pact’
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said former President Trump’s White House counsel called a letter drafted by a Justice Department official a “murder-suicide pact.”
Kinzinger in his opening statement described the document as he railed against Trump’s consideration of appointing Jeffrey Clark, who drafted the letter in support of Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud, as attorney general.
“Mr. Clark pleaded his case and offered to send the letter that he had drafted,” Kinzinger said. “The White House counsel called the Clark letter ‘a murder-suicide pact.’”
—Zach Schonfeld
Aguilar spells out threats to Pence
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) in his opening statement detailed the scope of Trump’s “multipart plan,” noting it “touches nearly ever component of our federal system” and extended to Vice President Mike Pence.
Aguilar spelled out how Trump adopted a theory by John Eastman to reject electors and pressured Pence to do so, as well. On the morning of Jan. 6, Trump called Pence, and “repeatedly berated Mr. Pence by cursing and leveling threats” because Pence saw the Eastman plan as unlawful. In video testimony, White House staffer Nick Luna said Trump called Pence “a wimp.”
Witness offered potential employment prior to testimony, Lofgren says
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said an individual linked to former President Trump offered a witness potential employment in advance of the witness’s testimony.
Lofgren said a witness was also told by a Trump-linked lawyer she could pretend to not recall facts when she actually did recall them.
“Mr. Trump raised hundreds of millions of dollars with false representations made to his online donors,” Lofgren said. “The proceeds from his fundraising, we have learned, have been used in ways that we believe are concerning.”
—Zach Schonfeld
Schiff lays out Trump’s efforts to overturn state results
“President Trump engaged in an unprecedented effort to obstruct the joint session on January 6 The proceeding where his electoral loss would be certified by Congress,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in his opening statement.
He said Trump and his officials repeatedly “pressured state officials” to try to overturn the election in several states. Calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperber, including a threat of criminal prosecution, were highlighted.
Schiff said Trump then “oversaw an effort to obtain and transmit false Electoral College ballots to Congress and the National Archives.” He said these documents were received by “multiple officers of the federal government.”
Hope Hicks, other officials and advisers warned Trump about election fraud claims
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) introduced a clip of former White House aide Hope Hicks as evidence of some in former President Trump’s orbit who challenged his false claims of election fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
“I was becoming increasingly concerned that we were damaging- we were damaging his legacy,” Hicks said of the election fraud claims in an interview with the Jan. 6 panel.
In response, Trump “said something along the lines of, ‘Nobody will care about my legacy if I lose, so that won’t matter. The only thing that matters is winning,'” Hicks said in the interview.
— Julia Mueller
Video recap runtime: 10 minutes
The committee’s video recap lasted over 10 minutes, with testimony clips from Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, featuring prominently.
Jan. 6 panel illustrates findings with video clips
The Jan. 6 committee is kicking off its final meeting with a reel of video and audio clips to sum up its long-running investigation and illustrate its findings.
The clips show snippets of interviews with key players like former Attorney General William Barr, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
They were interspersed with clips of people storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The videos were grouped into categories of findings, like “Trump knew he lost,” and “Trump pressured Vice President Pence to overturn the election” and “Trump summoned the mob.”
— Julia Mueller
Cheney: Trump should never ‘serve in any position of authority’ again
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) doubled down on her longtime criticisms of former President Trump, saying his actions around Jan. 6 make him unfit for office.
“No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. He is unfit for any office,” Cheney said.
The committee is reportedly expected to issue criminal referrals for Trump, including one on the rare charge of insurrection, which would bar him from holding future office if the former president is ultimately charged and convicted.
— Zach Schonfeld
Cheney invokes relative who fought in Civil War
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s vice chair, began her opening statement by referencing her great-great grandfather, who fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.
Cheney said her relative, Samuel Fletcher Cheney, joined the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought for four years in the war, including participating in a grand review of troops on Pennsylvania Avenue in May 1865.
“I have found myself thinking often, especially since January 6th, of my great-great-grandfather and all those in every generation who have sacrificed so much for the unity of our nation and the perpetuity of our institutions,” Cheney said.
— Zach Schonfeld
Thompson teases criminal referrals
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the committee, just teased the criminal referrals that will be voted on later today.
“Today, beyond our findings, we will also show that evidence we’ve gathered points to further action beyond the power of this committee or the Congress to help ensure accountability under law,” he said in his opening statement. “Accountability that can only be found in the criminal justice system.”
Multiple outlets reported last week that former President Trump will be the subject of three criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
– Mychael Schnell
Business meeting kicks off
House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has gaveled in the panel for its final public meeting.
The meeting began at 1:07 p.m.
Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) holds the elevator door as he walks through the Capitol complex before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its final meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Pence on Trump: ‘I don’t know that it’s criminal to take bad advice from lawyers’
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Monday said he hoped the Justice Department would not bring charges against former President Trump.
The Jan. 6 panel will reportedly vote today to recommend three criminal charges against the former president, though the Justice Department is not obligated to follow the committee’s recommendations.
“I think the president’s actions and words on January 6 were reckless, but I don’t know that it’s criminal to take bad advice from lawyers,” Pence said on Fox News. “And so, I hope the Justice Department is careful.”
How to watch the January 6 committee meeting
If you want to watch the final public meeting of the House committee investigating the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, here’s where you can view it.
The Hill will stream it live, here.
Television networks, including PBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and BBC will carry live coverage, as will C-SPAN.
Audio provides look at panel’s questioning of Michael Flynn
The Jan. 6 committee questioned former national security adviser Michael Flynn about whether he pressured defense and intelligence officials over the 2020 presidential election, according to audio obtained by CBS News and released Monday morning.
Flynn did not answer the questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment Rights. The committee had played snippets of Flynn taking the Fifth during previous hearings but the audio provides a more in-depth look at the panel’s line of questioning.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is heading into a crucial week as it prepares to hold its final presentation, release a highly anticipated report outlining findings from the panel’s year-plus probe and vote on criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
The week’s closely watched events are the culmination of the committee’s sprawling investigation, which began months after last year’s deadly riot and has consisted of almost a dozen hearings, testimony from more than 1,000 witnesses and millions of documents.
Here are five things to look for as the committee kicks off a pivotal week.
Things are going from bad to worse for former President Trump. And last week didn’t do him any favors.
A major poll showed Trump trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) by a wide margin in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up with perhaps his most formidable potential primary opponent.
And a self-described “major announcement” from Trump drew eye rolls after it was revealed to be a new way for the president to make money by selling digital trading cards with his likeness.
Jan. 6 committee reportedly plans to vote on criminal referrals against Trump
The Jan. 6 select committee is reportedly planning to vote on at least three criminal referrals targeting former President Trump on Monday, a significant step from the panel as it nears the end of its year-plus investigation.
Multiple outlets reported on Friday that the committee will vote to recommend the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against Trump for insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States.