Key takeaways from the Jan. 6 committee’s 10th public hearing
From CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Zachary Cohen
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection wrapped up its 10th public hearing, unveiling new evidence and video that showed how former President Donald Trump knew he had lost the election but still went forward with efforts to overturn the results, leading to the attack at the US Capitol.
During the hearing, the panel also voted unanimously to subpoena Trump. It’s rare but not without precedent for Congress to subpoena sitting and former presidents for testimony.
“The need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond our fact-finding. This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions,” Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said.
Additionally, in the roughly 3 months since the last hearing, the panel has obtained more than 1 million records from the Secret Service. These messages revealed agents spotted numerous guns in the crowd the morning of Jan. 6 before Trump was set to speak at the Ellipse. Agents were also aware of the involvement of right-wing groups.
Here are some other key takeaways:
- Never-before-seen video: The committee played previously unseen footage from Fort McNair, the DC-area Army base where congressional leaders took refuge during the insurrection and scrambled to respond to the unfolding crisis. The footage shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top officials working the phones and coordinating with Trump Cabinet members and other officials to secure the resources needed to quell the insurrection and secure the Capitol.
- Violent online rhetoric: Days before the attack, Trump’s communication adviser, Jason Miller, boasted to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that he “got the base FIRED UP,” and shared a link to a pro-Trump webpage containing hundreds of threatening comments about killing lawmakers. “Our ‘lawmakers’ in Congress can leave one of two ways: 1. in a body bag 2. After rightfully certifying Trump the winner,” one post on the webpage said. “Gallows don’t require electricity,” another post read. The committee said the Secret Service was also monitoring this kind of online activity.
- Threats against Pence: The Secret Service received alerts of online threats made against then-Vice President Mike Pence ahead of the Capitol insurrection, including that Pence would be “‘a dead man walking if he doesn’t do the right thing,’” according to committee member Rep. Adam Schiff. On the day of the attack, Pence ultimately rejected pleas from Trump and his top allies to halt certification of Joe Biden’s victory
- Premeditated plan to declare victory: Deposition video and a memo obtained from the National Archives showed how former Vice President Mike Pence’s Counsel, Greg Jacob, and Pence’s then-chief of staff Marc Short prepared for Trump to declare victory on Election Night, regardless of the results. “We also interviewed Brad Parscale, President Trump’s former campaign manager. 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,” committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren said.
- Trump knew he lost — but tried to change results anyway: Cassidy Hutchinson, the former top aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, provided new testimony to the committee relaying anecdotes of Trump acknowledging he had lost the election. Hutchinson’s testimony had been some of the most damning against Trump during the summer hearings, as she provided detailed accounts about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. On Thursday, the committee showed a new video deposition from Hutchinson where she spoke to Meadows about Trump’s January 2021 call where he urged the Georgia secretary of state to “find” the votes he needed to win. Hutchinson also said that she witnessed a conversation between Meadows and Trump where he was furious the Supreme Court had rejected a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election result.
CNN will air exclusive Jan. 6 footage from Fort McNair on Anderson Cooper 360 at 8 p.m. ET
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
CNN has obtained previously unseen footage from Jan. 6, showing congressional leaders while they took refuge at Fort McNair, two miles from the US Capitol.
The exclusive footage will air on CNN on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET, during a special edition of “Anderson Cooper 360°.” The footage shows congressional leaders, after evacuating from the Capitol, gathering at Fort McNair working the phones, trying to figure out what was going on at the overrun Capitol, and begging for help as they frantically scrambled to quell the insurrection.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack aired snippets of this material at its hearing Thursday. CNN has obtained additional clips that weren’t shown by the committee.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper said he saw the entirety of the more than 40-minute long footage that was provided to the committee.
“When I saw this video, it’s obviously extraordinary. You see members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats at Fort McNair, huddled together, trying to figure out what they can do to keep these proceedings going. We see much more than we ever knew before about their attempts, their discussions about moving the entire Congress to a location to actually continue the vote and then deciding, ‘No,’ it has to take place at Capitol Hill,” Cooper explained.
JUST IN: Jan. 6 committee votes to subpoena Trump
From CNN’s Jeremy Herb
The Jan. 6 committee has voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump as they investigate the riot on the US Capitol.
The unanimous vote marks an escalation in the committee’s efforts to obtain testimony from the former President, though at this late stage, it’s unlikely that Trump would comply with the subpoena – and the committee likely doesn’t have time for a lengthy court fight.
It’s rare but not without precedent for Congress to subpoena sitting and former presidents for testimony.
House Select Committee Char Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney argued the committee needed to hear from Trump to tell the most complete story it can about the Jan. 6 riot.
“Thanks to the tireless work of our members and investigators, we have left no doubt — none – that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of Jan. 6,” Thompson said. “He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6. So we want to hear from him,” Thompson said.
Cheney said more than 30 witnesses have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, including some who communicated with Trump. She noted that others, like Steve Bannon, have been held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify – and Bannon was convicted after the Justice Department indicted him – but argued the committee couldn’t wait for the Justice Department to obtain information from those recalcitrant witnesses.
“At some point, the Department of Justice may well unearth the facts that these and other witnesses are currently concealing,” Cheney said. “But our duty today is to our country and our children and our Constitution. We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion. And every American is entitled to the answers, so we can act now to protect our republic,” she said.
“He must be accountable”: Chairman explains decision to subpoena Trump
Jan. 6 committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson said the panel’s decision to vote to subpoena former President Donald Trump is important for the American people.
“The need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond our fact-finding. This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions,” he said during the committee’s hearing on Thursday.
Thompson said the committee has a “obligation” to see Trump’s testimony, though it recognizes that the subpoena of a former President is a “serious and extraordinary action.”
“That’s why we want to take this step in full view of the American people,” he added.
“There’s precedent in American history to congress to compel the testimony of a President. There is also precedent for presidents to provide testimony and documentary evidence to congressional investigators,” Thompson said.
Ex-Trump Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told panel that the insurrection was shocking
From CNN’s Devan Cole
Elaine Chao, who resigned from her post as Trump’s Secretary of Transportation a day after the insurrection, spoke in personal terms about her disgust over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack when she testified to the committee.
“I think the events at the Capitol, however they occurred, were shocking and it was something that, as I mentioned in my statement, that I could not put aside,” said Chao, one of the former members of Trump’s Cabinet whose recorded testimony lawmakers aired on Thursday.
“And at a particular point, the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values and my philosophy. I came as an immigrant to this country. I believe in this country. I believe in the peaceful transfer of power. I believe in democracy. And so I was — it was a decision that I made on my own,” she said.
CNN reported in August that Chao, who is also the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, had met with the committee. But after condemning the attack in her resignation letter in early 2021, Chao had largely stayed out of the national spotlight, with her recent comments to the committee providing fresh insight into her thinking on the deadly attack.
Chao’s resignation came the same day that Betsy DeVos, who served as Trump’s Education secretary, also resigned from her post, calling the riot “unconscionable for our country.”
Committee airs new footage of congressional leaders at Fort McNair during Jan. 6 insurrection
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
The Jan. 6 select committee aired previously unseen footage from Fort McNair, the DC-area Army base where congressional leaders took refuge during the insurrection and scrambled to respond to the unfolding crisis.
Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said during the hearing that the footage shows how Trump administration officials and congressional leaders worked around then-President Donald Trump to put down the riot that he had incited.
The footage shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top officials working the phones and coordinating with Trump Cabinet members and other officials to secure the resources needed to quell the insurrection and secure the Capitol.
The footage also showed two phone calls between Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who took on an impromptu leadership role on January 6, coordinating the emergency response.
The new footage showed Schumer dressing down then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. During their heated phone call, Schumer implored Rosen to intervene directly with Trump, and tell Trump to call off the mob. During the call, Pelosi told Rosen that the pro-Trump rioters were “breaking the law… at the instigation of the President of the United States.”
“The concern that we have for personal safety transcends everything,” Pelosi told Rosen.
Pelosi is seen on the phone with then-Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, discussing getting the state’s National Guard dispatched to the Capitol.
During the hearing, the panel labeled the footage as showing lawmakers at an “undisclosed location.” It has been public knowledge since January 6, 2021, that senior congressional leaders from both parties took refuge at Fort McNair, an Army base in DC, while the Capitol was overrun.
Coverage note: CNN has obtained additional footage from Fort McNair that wasn’t shown by the committee.
The exclusive footage will air on CNN on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET, during a special edition of “Anderson Cooper 360°.” The footage shows congressional leaders, after evacuating from the Capitol, gathering at Fort McNair working the phones, trying to figure out what was going on at the overrun Capitol, and begging for help as they frantically scrambled to quell the insurrection.
Watch the new footage of congressional leaders taking refuge on Jan. 6:
Panel is reviewing potential obstruction of testimony surrounding claim Trump lunged at Secret Service, member says
From CNN’s Alex Rogers
The House Select Committee is reviewing a potential attempt to obstruct testimony surrounding claims that former President Donald Trump got in a heated exchange with his Secret Service detail on the day of the riot, a member of the panel says.
“The committee is reviewing testimony regarding potential obstruction on this issue, including testimony about advice given not to tell the committee about this specific topic,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat from California, said at the panel’s hearing Thursday. “We will address this matter in our report.”
Aguilar said a former White House employee with national security responsibilities was informed of Trump’s “irate behavior” in the limo from then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato in Ornato’s office.
“It was Mr. Engel with Mr. Ornato in that office. They’d expressed to me that the President was irate, you know, on the drive up,” said the former White House employee, according to Aguilar. Secret Service lead agent Robert Engel “did not deny the fact that the President was irate,” added Aguilar.
Aguilar said the testimony “corresponds closely” with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s previous testimony.
Remember: This summer, Hutchinson testified that she heard from Ornato that Trump was so enraged at his Secret Service detail for blocking him from going to the Capitol that “he reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel” and “then used his free hand to lunge toward” Engel. Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her the story in front of Engel and he did not dispute the account.
After that hearing, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Ornato denied telling Hutchinson that the former President grabbed the steering wheel or an agent on his detail. Hutchinson stood by her testimony.
National Security official corroborates account of Trump’s angry outburst on Jan. 6
From CNN’s Elizabeth Hartfield
A national security official who worked in the White House told the House select committee that former President Donald Trump’s angry outburst in the presidential SUV on Jan. 6, 2021 was so widely known that it became “water cooler talk,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat, said Thursday.
The account of the official, whose identity was not revealed by the Jan. 6 committee, further corroborates earlier testimony from former Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump angrily reacting to being told by his Secret Service agents he could not go to the US Capitol after his speech on Jan. 6.
“In the days following that, I do remember, you know, again, hearing again how angry the President was when, you know, they were in the limo,” the official said, according to Aguilar. “But beyond specifics of that, that’s pretty much the extent of the cooler talk.”
More on the incident: Hutchinson testified in a June hearing that Tony Ornato told her Trump became “irate” when informed by security that he would not be going to the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, because the situation was not secure.
Ornato said that Trump was so enraged at his Secret Service detail for blocking him from going to the Capitol that “he reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel” and “then used his free hand to lunge towards” Secret Service agent Robert Engel.
Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her the story in front of Engel and he did not dispute the account.
Trump and his Republican allies have contested Hutchinson’s account as they’ve sought to undermine her testimony against Trump.
Committee details Trump’s inaction on the afternoon of Jan. 6
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak
The select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt sought to illustrate then-President Trump’s inaction as rioters stormed the Capitol Building, using new evidence to show the White House was aware of the violence as Trump returned to the building.
Trump has claimed he wasn’t aware of the riot until later in the day, telling New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman for her recent book that he was “on the late side” of learning about the events at the Capitol.
But the committee showed an email sent to Secret Service, national security and Trump’s military advisers saying “hundreds of Trump supporters stormed through metal barricades at the back of the Capitol building about 1 pm Wednesday, running past security guards and breaking fences.”
The email was sent at 1:19 p.m. on Jan. 6.
One minute later, Trump returned to the White House and was told about the violence, according to committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin.
The committee played a series of clips from top aides to the President, suggesting Trump was watching television in the Oval Office dining room over the course of the afternoon, unwilling to intervene in the insurrection attempt.
A former White House employee with national security responsibilities told the committee that a White House adviser, Eric Hershmann, told White House Counsel Pat Cipollone that “the President didn’t want anything done.”
