The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is set to hold its eighth public hearing Thursday at 8:00 pm ET.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), a committee member, explained earlier this week that the hearing will focus on what former President Donald Trump did between his speech at the Ellipse—which critics argue incited the attack—and when he finally urged his supporters to leave the Capitol.
"So far, we've detailed the administration's ties to extremism [and] the pressure campaign that the former president put on his own vice president, as well as the Department of Justice," Aguilar said. "We've talked about the doomed litigation strategy that was built on a lie."
"And what we will lay out on Thursday is what was happening during those 187 minutes in the White House," the congressman continued, adding that the hearing will address Trump's "failed leadership" and refusal to take his oath of office "seriously" on January 6, 2021.
Watch:
A committee aide echoed that preview to Politico early Thursday. "The story we're going to tell," the unnamed source said, "is that in that time, President Trump refused to act to defend the Capitol as a violent mob stormed" it.
One panel member suggested the hearing will feature revelations about more than just the former president. Appearing on MSNBC this week, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said that "you will see more information about who knew what and when, and we will really try to take you into the White House as well as into some of the other... departments and agencies to help lay out what happened in the 187 minutes."
Rolling Stone reported Wednesday that the panel also plans to use the hearing to call out "lawmakers who cowered during the Capitol attack but have since downplayed the insurrection's severity."
Former White House aides Sarah Matthews and Matthew Pottinger, who resigned over Trump's actions the day of the attack, are set to provide live testimony.
The panel's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), will miss the hearing after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week but still promoted the event Thursday afternoon, tweeting, "Tune in tonight."
Echoing that message on MSNBC, Murphy said that "I think this conversation and this information is critically important to defending the democracy and defending this country."
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Common Dreams staff.
Common Dreams staff | Radio Free (2022-07-21T20:03:28+00:00) WATCH LIVE: Jan. 6 Panel Holds Prime-Time Hearing on Trump Refusal to Defend Capitol. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/21/watch-live-jan-6-panel-holds-prime-time-hearing-on-trump-refusal-to-defend-capitol/
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