Seventeen months after pro-Trump rebels stormed the US Capitol, an elected House of Representatives committee on January 6 is preparing to test whether the revelations of that day still have the capacity to shock the American public.
Background: The Watergate-style prime-time hearing on Thursday will be the first of several meticulously crafted events, produced in part by James Goldston, the former president of ABC News and chief storyteller.
- The hearings will combine elements of Trump’s first and second impeachment hearings: a combination of key witness testimony, excruciating new videos and commission members exposing their case in televised speeches, sources familiar with Axios’s planning said.
- British documentary filmmaker Nick Questid, who is involved in the far-right Proud Boys, including during the group’s private meetings before the uprising, will testify on Thursday, the commission said tonight. Carolina Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who suffered a concussion after being attacked on January 6, will do the same.
What we watch
1. Whether the commission establishes a direct link between former President Trump and the Capitol attack – and proves a deliberate conspiracy to violate certification in the 2020 elections.
- Representative Jamie Ruskin (D-Md.) Said the committee had evidence of Trump’s involvement in “much more” than just “incitement” – and that revelations from the hearings would “blow up the roof of the House.”
- The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Secret Service agents tried to secure a route to the convoy on Jan. 6 so Trump could accompany his supporters as they marched to Congress, although Columbia police ultimately rejected the plan.
2. New allegations or evidence of crime.
- As of January 6, the commission has no power to prosecute, but investigators have amassed heaps of potential evidence in the course of more than 1,000 testimonies and interviews.
- The Justice Department reportedly asked the commission for transcripts of closed-door interviews – including some with Trump aides.
3. Any discussion of legislative reforms to prevent another 6 Jan.
- Axios said the committee was divided over whether to recommend the abolition of the Electoral College, a proposal Republicans used as evidence of his alleged partisanship.
4. Ratings.
- Almost every major television and cable news network – with the exception of Fox News – will have live coverage of the hearing, which breaks the pattern of past congressional spectacles by airing in prime time.
- Indicators: testimony of James Comey in June 2017 (19.5 million viewers); Brett Cavanaugh Hearing in September 2018 (20 million); day one of Trump’s first impeachment hearing in November 2019 (13 million); day one of the second impeachment trial against Trump in February 2021 (11 million).
The view from the White House
The White House plans to leave the January 6 announcement on Hill, a White House official told Axios.
- Biden officials see the hearings as congressional land and fear they are sending political messages into an ongoing independent investigation that could lead to law enforcement action or further criminal investigation, said a second source familiar with White House planning.
- This will allow Trump and his allies to claim that Biden is politicizing the investigation for his own political purposes, the source added.
- White House officials also believe that the president’s voice should not be used to provide ongoing comments on daily procedural changes in the investigation.
- It must be reserved for key moments, they said, citing the president’s remarks on the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Biden administration is also very careful to avoid feeling that the president is politicizing the DOJ.
- If Attorney General Merrick Garland eventually decides to take action against former Trump officials, they do not want to give Republicans any fodder to cloud the waters or undermine confidence in the White House.
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