Congressman Adam Schiff did say that they are still investigating previous testimony by people at the White House and Secret Service that they had no prior intelligence about the intention of violence against any of the "protectees". Obvious bullshit.
In the second hour, there was new video of senators trying to get help on the phone while the Capitol was under attack, and that was worth watching. During his time at the mic, it was obvious Jamie Raskin is still incensed, and rightly so.
The hearing ended with a vote from Committee members to subpoena Donald Trump for records and testimony, to which he will no doubt file objections and various delays, hoping to hold out for an eventual Republican takeover in November that will see the subpoena withdrawn. Or perhaps he'll just outright refuse to answer any subpoena.*
No date was given for the Committee's report, but I assume it will come before the end of the year. Unless the Dems hold the House in November, and then, who knows? According to Liz Cheney, it will contain referrals to the DOJ for criminal charges against several people. I'll be interested to see that list. I expect it will include Roger Stone, Mike Flynn, and John Eastman, at least, all of whom appeared before the Committee but refused to answer any questions, based on their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Steve Bannon has already been charged, tried and found guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify at all. His sentencing is scheduled for October 21. He has other problems.
Nancy Pelosi is getting a lot of good mileage out of this for her poise and command during the rioting.** Here's just one article from The Guardian. Conversely, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy can't be too thrilled at having this hearing remind people of their immediate stands against Trump and his army of insurrectionists when they're doing their best to be well thought of by the same people after reversing their positions and going all in with Trump.
You can watch the entire hearing here at CSPAN.
UPDATE:
And, of course, we're dying to know who gave that advice. I, for one, would be happy for another hearing.
*UPDATE: I heard a reasonable idea for why the Committee would subpoena Trump even knowing they'd not likely get anything out of him. Remember how he and his allies complained loudly in the impeachment process that he wasn't given a chance to personally appear and defend himself against the charges? Well, now he can't use THAT complaint about this investigation. They're giving him a chance.
** Ha. They left this part out of the hearing:
In a separate part of the recording obtained by CNN, Pelosi’s chief of staff tells her that the Secret Service have dissuaded Trump from coming to the Capitol. Pelosi responds by saying, “if he comes, I’m going to punch him out.”
Guardian
UPDATE: Trump responded to the hearing with a long letter to Chair Bennie Thompson.
Again, not what the Committee was formed to do. That job was up to Trump-appointed John Durham, and after all this time, he still has found no fraud to show that the election would have come out any other way.“This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself,” Trump wrote in the letter, which is dated Oct. 13.
The document includes numerous photos meant to demonstrate the crowd size at his Jan. 6 rally, as well as a state-by-state breakdown renewing baseless claims of election fraud in five states Trump lost to President Biden.
The Hill
Well, that's rich.Trump’s letter rehashes many of the same claims he’s made in the more than 18 months since the riot. He claimed he had authorized thousands of National Guard troops to defend the Capitol, a claim that his former acting Defense secretary has refuted in testimony to the committee.
And he repeated his claims that election results in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were all dubious because of reports of irregularities or suspicion about movement of ballots. But in each state, officials certified the results after audits and recounts. Testimony from Justice Department officials to the committee laid out how the department looked into each of Trump’s claims and was able to debunk or explain each of them.
[...]
Trump closed his letter to Thompson by defending the rioters as “great American patriots” who questioned the election results, even as the Justice Department has prosecuted numerous members of the mob for their actions that day.
“The people of this Country will not stand for unequal justice under the law, or Liberty and Justice for some. Election Day is coming. We demand answers on the Crime of the Century,” Trump wrote.
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