Summary United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack - Wikipedia en.m.wikipedia.org
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In June 2022, 60% of Americans supported an investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which led to subpoenas, interviews, testimony transcripts, and Mike Pence's former chief of staff, Steve Bannon, and Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law being subpoenaed or sentenced to prison.
Key Points
- The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack.
- The committee released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022 and its final report on December 22, 2022.
- The committee revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories.
- The House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes.
- William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022.
- Polls showed 60% of Americans believe the committee's investigation is fair and impartial.
Summaries
222 word summary
In June 2022, polls showed most Americans in favor of an investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 and issued subpoenas to individuals connected to the attack. Court records revealed a plan to keep Donald Trump in office on January 6th.
The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack and was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R). The committee interviewed over a thousand people, reviewed over a million documents, and subpoenaed 10 people. In December 2022, they released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts and Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and John Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress.
Polling showed 60% of Americans believed the investigation was fair and impartial. The DOJ expanded its criminal probe into Jan. 6, the House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings, and William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in June 2022, and Trump unsuccessfully sued to block a subpoena against him. Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively.
420 word summary
The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack. It was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. The committee interviewed over a thousand people, reviewed over a million documents, subpoenaed 10 people, and released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022. Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours. The committee discussed investigative threads, interviewed former Cabinet officials, received Alex Jones's text messages, may have subpoenaed Ginni Thomas, and took action against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate.
In October 2022, the Select Committee subpoenaed former President Trump and five House Republicans to investigate the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. Trump unsuccessfully sued to block the subpoena, and Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act. Peter Navarro and John Eastman were indicted or referred for charges.
The DOJ expanded its criminal probe into Jan. 6. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 and subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, Alex Holder, and Steve Bannon. William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022.
The House Select Committee disbanded on January 3, 2023 and its final report was released on December 22, 2022, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy against former President Donald Trump and John Eastman. Polls showed 60% of Americans believed the investigation was fair and impartial. In June 2022, polls showed most Americans in favor of an investigation into the January 6 attack, and believed Donald Trump should be charged. The House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 and issued subpoenas to individuals connected to the attack. CNN and The New York Times reported that two Congressional allies were lobbied to overturn the election, and two Trump White House lawyers had met with investigators. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th.
607 word summary
In June 2022, polls showed most Americans supported a congressional investigation into the January 6 attack and believed Donald Trump should be charged. The House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 and issued subpoenas to several individuals. CNN reported two congressional allies were lobbied to overturn the election, and The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with investigators. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th.
William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was referred in May 2021 and Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records.
In July 2022, the committee began producing information for DOJ, and its full report was released on December 21. Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark, and 34 witnesses were subpoenaed or indicted for contempt of Congress. False slates of electors, phone metadata, and individuals related to Trump were reported, and five attorneys were referred to DOJ in March 2022. Chairman Bennie Thompson appointed Rep. Liz Cheney as Vice Chair of the committee and hired a chief investigative counsel and additional staff. Peter Navarro and John Eastman were indicted or referred for charges. Polls showed 60% of Americans believed the investigation was fair and impartial.
In October 2022, the Select Committee subpoenaed former President Trump and five House Republicans to investigate the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. Trump unsuccessfully sued to block the subpoena, and Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act. The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack. It was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. The committee interviewed over a thousand people, reviewed over a million documents, subpoenaed 10 people, and released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022.
The committee discussed investigative threads, interviewed former Cabinet officials, received Alex Jones's text messages, and may have subpoenaed Ginni Thomas. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours and action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate. The DOJ expanded its criminal probe into Jan. 6. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 and subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, Alex Holder, and Steve Bannon.
Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress. The committee revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories. Former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of documents and was denied by a judge. On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee. The committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023 and its final report was released on December 22, 2022, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy against former President Donald Trump and John Eastman.
768 word summary
The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack. It was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John L. Smith as Special Counsel and Judge David Carter ruled that an email likely contained evidence of a crime, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy.
The committee interviewed over a thousand people, reviewed over a million documents, subpoenaed 10 people, and released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022. It revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories. Former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of documents and was denied by a judge. On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee.
The committee discussed investigative threads, interviewed former Cabinet officials, received Alex Jones's text messages, and may subpoena Ginni Thomas. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours. Action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate and DOJ is expanding its criminal probe into Jan. 6. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 and subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, Alex Holder, and Steve Bannon. Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress. The committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023 and its final report was released on December 22, 2022. The House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes. In October 2022, the Select Committee, empowered by House Resolution 503, Section 5, subpoenaed former President Trump and five House Republicans to investigate the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. Trump unsuccessfully sued to block the subpoena, and Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act.
False slates of electors, phone metadata, and individuals related to Trump were reported, and five attorneys were referred to DOJ in March 2022. Chairman Bennie Thompson appointed Rep. Liz Cheney as Vice Chair of the committee and hired a chief investigative counsel and additional staff. Peter Navarro and John Eastman were indicted or referred for charges. Polls showed 60% of Americans believed the investigation was fair and impartial.
In July 2022, the committee began producing information for DOJ, and its full report was released on December 21. It was probing security failures and potential funding sources behind the Capitol riot. Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark, and 34 witnesses were subpoenaed or indicted for contempt of Congress. The committee's final report stated "our democratic institutions are only as strong as the commitment of those who are entrusted with their care."
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was referred in May 2021 and Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records. Rep. Scott Perry played a key role in Trump's effort to oust the acting attorney general, and Roger Stone pleaded the Fifth before the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ivanka Trump was asked to testify in April 2022. In June 2022, polls showed that most Americans supported a congressional investigation into the January 6 attack and believed Donald Trump should be charged. The House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 to prevent a repeat and issued subpoenas to former Deputy White House Counsel, the Secret Service, five Republican Representatives, and Rudy Giuliani. CNN reported two congressional allies were lobbied to overturn the election, and The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with investigators. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said the committee will expose Trump's disregard for the Constitution and his oath. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th. William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022.
1141 word summary
In June 2022, polls found that a majority of Americans think Donald Trump should be charged for the January 6 attack and support a congressional investigation. Lawmakers have increased security due to threats, and the committee has issued subpoenas to former Deputy White House Counsel, the Secret Service, five Republican Representatives, and Rudy Giuliani, among others. The Executive Summary revealed evidence for criminal referral of John Eastman and other Trump associates, and the House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 to prevent a repeat. The panel has subpoenaed unseen Trump tapes, requested interviews with Ginni Thomas and William Barr, and sought evidence from the RNC and 37,000 pages of emails related to the Trump Administration. CNN reported two congressional allies were lobbied to overturn the election, and The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with investigators. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger announced the committee will expose Trump's disregard for the Constitution and his oath. The committee had evidence of criminal referral against Trump, and was split on sending it. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th. William Barr resigned as Attorney General and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022. Rep. Scott Perry played a key role in Trump's effort to oust the acting attorney general, and Roger Stone pleaded the Fifth before the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records and Rep. Bennie Thompson requested cooperation from Jim Jordan. The committee held a hearing featuring officers and video of an officer being crushed by a mob, and Ivanka Trump was asked to testify in April 2022.
The committee's final report stated "our democratic institutions are only as strong as the commitment of those who are entrusted with their care." Trump was accused of destroying documents related to the Capitol riot and text messages between Ginni Thomas and Meadows showed she urged him to overturn the 2020 election. Military-intelligence veterans led Trump's disinformation campaign, and an audit of Maricopa County was conducted by a Trump-allied firm.
In July 2022, the committee started producing information for DOJ, and its full report was released on December 21. It was probing security failures and potential funding sources behind the Capitol riot. Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark were subpoenaed or indicted for contempt of Congress, and 34 witness testimonies were released on December 22.
In January 2022, false slates of electors, phone metadata, and individuals related to Trump were reported. Five attorneys were referred to DOJ in March 2022, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone in May, and Reps. Mo Brooks, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry were referred in September 2021. Chairman Bennie Thompson announced Rep. Liz Cheney as Vice Chair of the committee, which hired a chief investigative counsel and additional senior staff members. Peter Navarro and John Eastman were indicted or referred for charges. Polls showed 60% of Americans believe the committee's investigation is fair and impartial. In October 2022, the Select Committee, empowered by House Resolution 503, Section 5, subpoenaed former President Trump and five House Republicans to investigate the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. They also requested telephone records for more than 100 people related to the rally. Trump sued the committee to block the subpoena, but the request was dismissed. Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act to make it harder to overturn a certified presidential election in the future.
The committee discussed investigative threads, interviewed former Cabinet officials, received Alex Jones's text messages, and may subpoena Ginni Thomas. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours. Action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate and DOJ is expanding its criminal probe into Jan. 6. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 and subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, Alex Holder, and Steve Bannon. Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress.
The Supreme Court ruled NARA could release Trump White House documents to the committee and rejected Trump's appeal to have his White House records withheld. Biden rejected Trump's executive privilege claim over White House visitor logs from Jan 6. On March 2, the Select Committee stated it had evidence of Trump's criminal conspiracy to defraud the US and issued subpoenas to five House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan; Rudy Giuliani declined to testify. The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack. It was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. The committee subpoenaed 10 people to provide documents and testify, including Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Kelli and Michael Ward, Marc Short, Ivanka Trump, Roger Stone, Waldron, and Bernard Kerik.
Former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of documents and was denied by a judge. On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee. On November 8, the committee subpoenaed six more people suspected of involvement in a "war room" operation at the Willard Hotel.
The committee released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022 and its final report on December 22, 2022. It revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories. The House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes. Documents obtained by the committee revealed allies had privately expressed disagreement with the events of January 6 yet defended Trump in public.
The committee interviewed over a thousand people and reviewed over a million documents. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John L. Smith as Special Counsel to oversee investigations and Judge David Carter ruled that an email likely contained evidence of a crime, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy. The RNC was declared a legitimate investigative body in May 2022 and Trump's Save America PAC provided legal defense funds. The committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023.
1988 word summary
The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John L. Smith as Special Counsel to oversee investigations. The committee was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. It interviewed over a thousand people and reviewed over a million documents, referring Donald Trump for four crimes, including incitement of insurrection, and other individuals for refusing to testify.
Documents obtained by the committee revealed allies had privately expressed disagreement with the events of January 6, yet defended Trump in public. Mark Meadows had a call with Rudy Giuliani and two Representatives to encourage Trump supporters to march to the Capitol, and after the riot, exchanged texts with Donald Trump Jr. and Sean Hannity which revealed efforts to overturn the election results.
Ten live televised public hearings were held in 2022, which revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories. Judge David Carter ruled that an email likely contained evidence of a crime, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy. The RNC was declared a legitimate investigative body in May 2022 and Trump's Save America PAC provided legal defense funds.
The committee released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022, revealing testimony from 34 witnesses including Ivanka Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr. The House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes. The committee released its final report on December 22, 2022, placing blame on former President Donald Trump for inciting the riot and identifying Kenneth Chesebro as the plot's architect. U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were subject to racial abuse and physical attacks during the attack.
On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee. On October 30, NARA detailed that Trump sought to block 750 pages of documents requested by the committee. On November 8, the committee subpoenaed six people suspected of involvement in a "war room" operation at the Willard Hotel. The Committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023. The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed 10 people to provide documents and testify. Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of documents and was denied by a judge. Steve Bannon was federally indicted and referred to the DOJ for contempt of Congress. The committee also subpoenaed Peter Navarro, Kelli and Michael Ward, Marc Short, Ivanka Trump, Roger Stone, Waldron, Bernard Kerik, and asked Rep. McCarthy for information.
The Supreme Court ruled NARA could release Trump White House documents to the committee and rejected Trump's appeal to have his White House records withheld. Biden rejected Trump's executive privilege claim over White House visitor logs from Jan 6. On March 2, the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election stated it had evidence of Trump's criminal conspiracy to defraud the US. The committee issued subpoenas to five House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan, and Rudy Giuliani declined to testify.
Judge Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress. Documents obtained by the committee included a text message from Donald Trump Jr. outlining ways to subvert the Electoral College process. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress, while DOJ declined to prosecute Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino. The RNC attempted to block the committee's subpoena of Salesforce for fundraising information. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 to investigate the Capitol attack. At the first hearing, Representative Scott Perry was revealed to have requested a pardon from the Trump administration. During the second hearing, emails from December 24, 2020 were reported on. The committee subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, Alex Holder, and Steve Bannon. On July 12, Representative Liz Cheney revealed Trump had contacted a witness. Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress.
The committee discussed investigative threads such as subpoenaing former president Trump and other officials, withdrew their subpoena against RNC and Salesforce, requested Newt Gingrich appear for an interview, and asked a federal judge in California for 3,200 pages of emails from John Eastman. They interviewed former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and other former Cabinet officials, received Alex Jones's text messages, and may subpoena Ginni Thomas. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours. Action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate and DOJ is expanding its criminal probe into Jan. 6.
In October 2022, the Select Committee subpoenaed former President Trump, five House Republicans, and requested telephone records for more than 100 people related to the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. The Select Committee was empowered by House Resolution 503, Section 5 and recommended criminal charges against Trump and referrals to the House Ethics Committee. They interviewed Wisconsin assembly speaker Robin Vos, former head of Pence’s security detail Tim Giebels and Secret Service agent John Gutsmiedl, former head of Trump's security detail Robert Engel, and Kelli Ward. Trump sued the select committee to block the subpoena on November 11, but U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed the request. On October 13, the Select Committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump. On October 21, Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act to make it harder to overturn a certified presidential election in the future. In January 2022, false slates of Trump electors, phone metadata, and several individuals including Kimberly Guilfoyle, Nick Fuentes, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani were reported. In March 2022, Guilfoyle was reported as a Trump advisor and five attorneys were referred to the DOJ. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was reported in May and Reps. Mo Brooks, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry were referred to the DOJ. In September 2021, Chairman Bennie Thompson announced Rep. Liz Cheney as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The committee hired a chief investigative counsel and additional senior staff members. The Justice Department requested transcripts and four GOP lawmakers were referred to the House Ethics panel. Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was indicted for contempt of Congress and John Eastman was referred for charges. Polls showed that 60% of Americans believe the committee's investigation is fair and impartial. The House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been investigating the involvement of former President Trump's White House. The committee was focusing on far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, and considering criminal referrals. In March 2022, a federal judge found Trump most likely committed crimes over 2020 election, and in December 2021 the committee released a report.
In July 2022, the committee started producing information for DOJ, and the full report was released on December 21. The committee was probing security failures and potential funding sources behind the Capitol riot. Mark Meadows and Kash Patel were subpoenaed, and Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Clark were indicted for contempt of Congress. On December 22, 2022, the committee released 34 witness testimonies and referred Trump for criminal prosecution.
The Trump White House had been accused of destroying documents related to the January 6th Capitol riot, and text messages between Ginni Thomas and Meadows showed she urged him to pursue efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Military-intelligence veterans led Trump's campaign of disinformation, and an audit of Maricopa county was conducted by a Trump-allied firm.
The committee held a hearing featuring four police officers and video of an officer being crushed against a door by a mob, and Ivanka Trump testified in April 2022. The committee's final report stated that "our democratic institutions are only as strong as the commitment of those who are entrusted with their care." Rep. Scott Perry was revealed to have played a key role in Trump's plot to oust the acting attorney general, and Roger Stone appeared before the panel on Dec. 17 and pleaded the Fifth. Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of his White House records, and Rep. Bennie Thompson requested cooperation from Jim Jordan. Jan Wolfe reported Trump had cooperated with the panel, while Ivanka Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Ginni Thomas were asked to cooperate.
William Barr resigned as Attorney General on Dec. 15, 2020 and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee on Jan. 23, 2022; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Thompson in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022.
The committee had evidence of criminal referral against Trump, and was split on sending it. The Republican National Committee is suing the January 6th committee for subpoenaing data from software vendor Salesforce. Evidence suggests a "criminal conspiracy" to block Congress from certifying the election and Trump's involvement in proposals to seize voting machines. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th.
CNN reported two congressional allies were lobbied by the Trump White House to overturn the election, and The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with January 6th investigators. Donald Trump Jr., Mark Meadows, Jared Kushner, and Barry Loudermilk are all under investigation. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger has announced that the Jan. 6 panel he oversees will expose Trump's disregard for the Constitution and his oath.
The House panel has subpoenaed unseen Trump tapes and requested interviews with Ginni Thomas, Virginia Thomas, William Barr, Rudy Giuliani, five GOP lawmakers close to President Trump, Robert O'Brien, Elaine Chao, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, Newt Gingrich, and Roger Stone from Danish filmmakers. It has also sought evidence from the RNC and 37,000 pages of emails related to the Trump Administration. The Committee has referred those who failed to comply to the House Ethics Committee for sanction. The House January 6 Committee is investigating the attack on the US Capitol, issuing over 100 subpoenas, including four to GOP lawmakers. Trump refused to testify and legal precedent was used to enforce subpoenas. The Select Committee's Executive Summary revealed evidence for criminal referral of John Eastman and other Trump associates, and the House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 to prevent a repeat.
The Committee has subpoenaed numerous Trump insiders, including Michael Flynn, Mary Clare Jalonick, Stop the Steal LLC, and pro-Trump group organizer. Others such as Steve Bannon and Kashyap Patel have faced contempt charges or skipped their depositions. It has also questioned Cassidy Hutchinson, Kayleigh McEnany, Bernard Kerik, Roger Stone, Alex Jones, former White House aides, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and a former Pence aide.
The committee has also issued subpoenas to former Deputy White House Counsel, the Secret Service, five Republican Representatives, Kelli Ward, six people, Rudy Giuliani and four other Trump lawyers, social media companies, Trump-backed congressional candidates, and the author of the "Coup PowerPoint".
In June 2022, polls found that a majority of Americans think Donald Trump should be charged for the January 6 attack and that most Americans support a congressional investigation into the incident. Lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee have increased their security due to threats. Fox News and Newsmax attempted to spin the hearing, while Wisconsin House Speaker filed a lawsuit against the committee and Rep. Kevin McCarthy threatened telecoms.
3359 word summary
In June 2022, polls found that a majority of Americans think Donald Trump should be charged for the January 6 attack and that most Americans support a congressional investigation into the incident. Lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee have increased their security due to threats. Fox News and Newsmax attempted to spin the hearing, while Wisconsin House Speaker filed a lawsuit against the committee and Rep. Kevin McCarthy threatened telecoms.
The committee subpoenaed former Deputy White House counsel and the Secret Service in July 2022, five Republican Representatives in May 2022, Kelli Ward in September 2022, six people in February 2022, Rudy Giuliani and four other Trump lawyers, social media companies, Trump-backed congressional candidates, and the author of the "Coup PowerPoint" in January 2022.
The committee questioned Cassidy Hutchinson (June 28, 2022), Kayleigh McEnany (Jan. 12, 2022), Bernard Kerik (Jan. 13, 2022), Roger Stone and Alex Jones who both pleaded the Fifth in their depositions, former White House aides, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and a former top aide to Mike Pence.
A new round of Trump insiders were subpoenaed by the January 6th Committee (Nov. 9, 2021) including Michael Flynn who took the Fifth Amendment during a hearing (Mar. 10, 2022) and later sued the committee (Dec. 22, 2021). The committee set a contempt vote for former DOJ official Mary Clare Jalonick (Nov. 29, 2021) and issued a subpoena for Stop the Steal LLC (Oct. 7, 2021). Pro-Trump group organizer received a grand jury subpoena (Apr. 8, 2022) and Kashyap Patel ditched his deposition (Oct. 14, 2021) while Steve Bannon faced a criminal contempt charge (Oct. 15, 2021). The House January 6 Committee is investigating the attack on the US Capitol, issuing over 100 subpoenas, including four to GOP lawmakers. Trump refused to testify and legal precedent was used to enforce subpoenas. The Select Committee's Executive Summary revealed evidence for criminal referral of John Eastman and other Trump associates, and the House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 to prevent a repeat. The Committee has subpoenaed several members of Congress and referred those who failed to comply to the House Ethics Committee for sanction. It has also sought footage of Roger Stone from Danish filmmakers and interviewed Robert O'Brien, Elaine Chao, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, and Newt Gingrich. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger has announced that the Jan. 6 panel he oversees will expose Trump's disregard for the Constitution and his oath. The House panel has subpoenaed unseen Trump tapes and requested interviews with Ginni Thomas, Virginia Thomas, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk. It is also pursuing interviews with former Attorney General William Barr, Rudy Giuliani, and five GOP lawmakers close to President Trump, and seeking evidence from the RNC and 37,000 pages of emails related to the Trump Administration. The Trump White House was lobbied by two congressional allies to overturn the election, according to a CNN exclusive. The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with January 6th investigators, who obtained footage of GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk and text messages between Meadows and other Republicans discussing alarm over the events of January 6th. Donald Trump Jr. texted Mark Meadows ideas for overturning the election, and Capitol attack investigators are focusing on far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Jared Kushner was interviewed, and White House records showed a 7-hour gap in Trump's phone log on January 6th.
The committee had evidence of criminal referral against Trump, but was split on sending it. The Republican National Committee is suing the January 6th committee for subpoenaing data from software vendor Salesforce. Evidence suggests a "criminal conspiracy" to block Congress from certifying the election and Trump's involvement in proposals to seize voting machines. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th.
William Barr resigned as Attorney General on Dec. 15, 2020 and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee on Jan. 23, 2022; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Thompson in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022.
Ivanka Trump was asked to cooperate with the committee, Sarah Huckabee Sanders testified in secret meetings, Ginni Thomas attended the 'Stop-the-Steal' rally before the Capitol attack on March 14, 2022, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Trump had admitted bearing some responsibility for the Capitol attack on Jan. 6. The committee had subpoenaed individuals, White House spokesman, and requested documents from the National Archives and Secret Service.
On Jan. 23, 2021, Rep. Scott Perry was revealed to have played a key role in Trump's plot to oust the acting attorney general, and Roger Stone appeared before the panel on Dec. 17 and pleaded the Fifth. Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of his White House records to the committee on Dec. 23, and Rep. Bennie Thompson sent a letter to Jim Jordan that day requesting him to cooperate. Jan Wolfe reported on Dec. 25 that Trump had cooperated with the panel. The House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been investigating the involvement of former President Trump's White House. Mark Meadows and Kash Patel have been subpoenaed, and Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Clark have been indicted for contempt of Congress. On December 22, 2022, the committee released 34 witness testimonies and referred Trump for criminal prosecution. On July 27th, the first hearing of the Select Committee was held featuring four police officers and video of an officer being crushed against a door by a mob. The committee's final report stated that "our democratic institutions are only as strong as the commitment of those who are entrusted with their care."
The House Oversight Committee sent a letter to Joseph V. Cuffari and Allison C. Lerner regarding missing texts in July 2021. The Secret Service identified potential missing texts on phones of 10 individuals and the Washington Post reported that phones of top Pentagon officials had been wiped of messages related to the attack. The hearings provided a template for digital-era dramatics, with Republicans presenting their own narrative. DOJ prosecutors sought testimony from former Vice President Pence in January 6 criminal probe, and Ivanka Trump testified to the House panel in April 2022. The Trump White House had been accused of destroying documents related to the January 6th Capitol riot. The Supreme Court rejected Trump's efforts to block document turnover, and texts between Ginni Thomas and Meadows showed she urged him to pursue efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Military-intelligence veterans led Trump's campaign of disinformation, and an audit of Maricopa county was conducted by a Trump-allied firm with a history of false election statements.
Meadows was subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 Committee and sued for not complying. The DOJ backed the subpoena and eventually declined to charge him with contempt of Congress. CNN reported on December 8, 2022 that the committee was considering criminal referrals for at least four people besides Trump. The committee held a hearing on Meadows and highlighted texts from Jim Jordan and other Trump administration officials, recommending criminal prosecution.
The committee started producing information for DOJ in July 2022, and the full report was released on December 21. In March 2022, a federal judge found Trump most likely committed crimes over 2020 election, and the Justice Dept. was investigating Trump's actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe in July 2022. The committee was probing security failures and potential funding sources behind the Capitol riot, and 41 House Democrats introduced a bill to bar "insurrectionist" Trump from presidency in December 2022.
The committee was ramping up efforts to uncover funding behind the Capitol riot, focusing on far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Several news sources reported on the Cawthorn Challenge in January 2022. The committee was considering criminal referrals, and released a report in December 2021. In September 2021, Chairman Bennie Thompson announced Rep. Liz Cheney as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The committee hired a chief investigative counsel and additional senior staff members, including former GOP Congressman Denver Riggleman. The Justice Department requested transcripts, and four GOP lawmakers were referred to the House Ethics panel for not complying with subpoenas. Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was indicted for contempt of Congress, and John Eastman was referred for charges. The House of Representatives voted to create the select committee in June 2021, which included Reps. Jordan, Thompson, Kinzinger, Cheney, Luria, Raskin, Murphy and Aguilar.
In December 2022, the committee released its final report, which included several key findings and recommendations for reform. Polls showed that 60% of Americans believe the committee's investigation is fair and impartial, while 78% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans approve of their work. Some House Republicans criticized the committee's progress and threatened legal action against telecommunications and social media companies if they complied with the committee's subpoenas. McCarthy warned Republican members they would be stripped of all their other committee assignments if they allowed Pelosi to appoint them. The Wall Street Journal criticized Pelosi for rejecting McCarthy's picks and appointing Adam Schiff, and the San Francisco Chronicle said she should have also rejected Rep. Troy Nehls.
Former President Trump was sued on October 21 for not appearing on September 26. Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos reported White House Deputy Counsel Patrick Philbin had erased text messages from DHS on August 3 and the U.S. Secret Service was scheduled for closed-door, videotaped testimony on July 8.
On March 15, 2022, Kimberly Guilfoyle was reported as a Trump advisor and five attorneys were referred to the DOJ for working to overturn the election. On March 16, Kenneth Chesebro had a subpoena dropped against Salesforce. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was reported on May 31 and Reps. Mo Brooks, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry were referred to the DOJ on May 27.
On January 28th 2022 Judd Deere (Trump Deputy White House Press Secretary), Kelly Ruh (listed as secretary for Wisconsin on false slate of Trump electors), Andrew Hitt (listed as chairperson for Wisconsin on false slate of Trump electors), Lisa Patton (listed as secretary for Pennsylvania on false slate of Trump electors) and Peter Navarro (Trump economic advisor) were reported. On February 15th Mark Finchem (Arizona state legislator) and Salesforce.com (RNC's fundraising platform) were reported.
False slates of Trump electors included Bill Bachenberg, James DeGraffenreid, Michael J. McDonald, Deborah W. Maestas, Jewll Powdrell, Mayra Rodriguez, Kathy Berden, Shawn Still, David Shafer, Loraine B. Pellegrino, Nancy Cottle, Patrick Casey, Nick Fuentes, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Meta, Alphabet, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Ross Worthington, Arthur Schwartz, Andy Surabian, Phil Waldron, Kimberly Fletcher, Ed Martin, Bryan Lewis, Brian Jack and Robert “Bobby” Peede Jr. Phone metadata revealed connections between Kimberly Guilfoyle, Nick Fuentes, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani In October 2022, the Select Committee subpoenaed former President Trump, five House Republicans, and requested telephone records for more than 100 people related to the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. The Select Committee was empowered by House Resolution 503, Section 5 and recommended criminal charges against Trump and referrals to the House Ethics Committee. They interviewed Wisconsin assembly speaker Robin Vos, former head of Pence’s security detail Tim Giebels and Secret Service agent John Gutsmiedl, former head of Trump's security detail Robert Engel, and Kelli Ward. Trump sued the select committee to block the subpoena on November 11, but U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed the request. On October 13, the Select Committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump. On October 21, Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify. Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act to make it harder to overturn a certified presidential election in the future. John McEntee testified that Rep. Matt Gaetz sought a presidential pardon related to a DOJ investigation into possible sex trafficking violations. Chairman Thompson stated the select committee may also make referrals to other agencies like the FEC. They released a snippet of radio communications between Oath Keepers, and Speaker Vos (R) filed a lawsuit against the committee after receiving a subpoena to testify. Denver Riggleman stated on 60 Minutes that a call was connected from the White House switchboard to a Capitol rioter and Ginni Thomas agreed to a voluntary interview.
The committee discussed investigative threads such as subpoenaing former president Trump and other officials, withdrew their subpoena against RNC and Salesforce, requested Newt Gingrich appear for an interview, and asked a federal judge in California for 3,200 pages of emails from John Eastman. They interviewed former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and other former Cabinet officials, requested Cuffari step aside from the investigation into the missing Secret Service texts, received Alex Jones's text messages, and may subpoena Ginni Thomas. Former acting WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours, they received thousands of exhibits from the Secret Service, and have planned a public hearing and interim report. Action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate and DOJ is expanding its criminal probe into Jan. 6. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 to investigate the Capitol attack. At the first hearing, new footage and testimony revealed Representative Scott Perry had requested a pardon from the Trump administration. During the second hearing, emails from December 24, 2020 were reported on by the New York Times. The committee subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and documentary filmmaker Alex Holder. On July 12, Representative Liz Cheney revealed Trump had contacted a witness. On July 11, a judge ruled Bannon's lawyers could not argue against the subpoena. Jury selection began for Bannon's trial on July 18 and Patrick Byrne testified in closed doors. The committee subpoenaed the Secret Service for text messages from January 5–6 that agents had deleted. Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress.
The committee also issued subpoenas to five House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan, and Rudy Giuliani declined to testify. Judge Carter ruled that Eastman must disclose 159 sensitive documents, including evidence of a crime. Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress, while DOJ declined to prosecute Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino. Documents obtained by the committee included a text message from Donald Trump Jr. outlining ways to subvert the Electoral College process. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. Judge David O. Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had conspired to obstruct Congress. Rudy Giuliani's attorneys suggested he may not comply with his subpoena, while Kimberly Guilfoyle was also subpoenaed. The RNC attempted to block the committee's subpoena of Salesforce for fundraising information. On Feb 15, Biden rejected Trump's executive privilege claim over White House visitor logs from Jan 6. On March 2, the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election stated it had evidence of Trump's criminal conspiracy to defraud the US. The Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's challenge to the release of NARA records, and John Eastman, an attorney for former President Trump, unsuccessfully attempted to protect 19,000 emails from release.
The Supreme Court ruled NARA could release Trump White House documents to the committee, which subpoenaed Peter Navarro, Kelli and Michael Ward, Marc Short, and Ivanka Trump. Trump appealed to the Supreme Court but was rejected. The committee also subpoenaed Roger Stone, Waldron, and Bernard Kerik, and asked Rep. McCarthy for information. On Dec 12, the committee released a report detailing emails and texts suggesting Trump tried to persuade legislators to change elector slates from Biden to Trump.
The committee voted unanimously to hold Jeffrey Clark in contempt and Colonel Earl G. Matthews sent a 36-page memorandum contesting the DoD Inspector General report. Mark Meadows' attorney said he would cease cooperating with the committee, and Meadows sued Pelosi and the committee to block his subpoena. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's appeal to have his White House records withheld, but allowed two weeks for appeal to the Supreme Court. The Guardian reported Meadows had turned over a PowerPoint presentation and email suggesting declaring a national security emergency to delay certification of electors. The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed 10 people to provide documents and testify by December. Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of documents and was denied by a judge. Steve Bannon was federally indicted, and Trump's lawyers argued Biden's willingness to release records served his "own political advantage". On October 21, all 229 House members voted to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress and refer his case to the DOJ.
On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee. On October 30, NARA detailed that Trump sought to block 750 pages of documents requested by the committee. On November 8, the committee subpoenaed six people suspected of involvement in a "war room" operation at the Willard Hotel.
The committee released its final report on December 22, 2022, placing blame on former President Donald Trump for inciting the riot and identifying Kenneth Chesebro as the plot's architect. U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were subject to racial abuse and physical attacks during the attack. The committee requested documents from 15 social media companies and records from seven government agencies in the two months leading up to the attack.
The committee released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022, revealing testimony from 34 witnesses including Ivanka Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr. On December 19, 2022, the House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes. Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and Jeffrey Clark were identified as “actors” in the plot, but the committee decided it lacked sufficient evidence to refer them. In 2021, the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack began investigating the seven-part plan to overturn the 2020 election results. Ten live televised public hearings were held in 2022, which revealed evidence of Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department and his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories. Judge David Carter ruled that an email likely contained evidence of a crime, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy. The RNC was declared a legitimate investigative body in May 2022 and Trump's Save America PAC provided legal defense funds. In July 2022, Chairs Thompson and Maloney requested a new Inspector General to investigate the failure of Trump-appointed DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.
Documents obtained by the committee revealed allies had privately expressed disagreement with the events of January 6, yet defended Trump in public. Mark Meadows had a call with Rudy Giuliani and two Representatives to encourage Trump supporters to march to the Capitol. After the riot, Meadows exchanged texts with Donald Trump Jr. and Sean Hannity which revealed efforts to overturn the election results. Representative Schiff favored a criminal referral for Trump and hoped the committee would do so unanimously. The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack was established in July 2021 to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John L. Smith as Special Counsel to oversee investigations. The committee referred Donald Trump for four crimes, including incitement of insurrection, and other individuals, including Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, for refusing to testify. The Committee was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. It interviewed over a thousand people and reviewed over a million documents, publishing a 845-page final report and interview transcripts. Trump was referred for prosecution and the Committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023.
6918 word summary
The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack was established on July 1, 2021 to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol. It was chaired by Bennie Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R) and had nine members from both major political parties. Trump refused to testify and the Committee unanimously voted to refer him and lawyer John Eastman for prosecution.
Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Mark Meadows, and Dan Scavino were all held accountable for refusing to testify. The Committee interviewed over a thousand people and reviewed over a million documents, publishing a 845-page final report and interview transcripts.
On February 4, 2022, the Republican National Committee voted to censure Cheney and Kinzinger, who were both members of the select committee. Pelosi appointed eight members, including two Republicans, and McCarthy appointed five members. Timothy J. Heaphy was appointed as the chief investigative counsel and other staff included Joe Maher, Denver Riggleman, Timothy Mulvey, Candyce Phoenix, Hope Goins, Kristin Amerling, and David Buckley. The Committee was disbanded on January 3, 2023. Green Team is a select committee tasked with investigating the money trail behind false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election made by Trump and his allies. By May 2022, over 1000 witnesses had been interviewed, 35,000 documents obtained, and over 1 million documents reviewed. The committee ultimately referred Trump for four crimes, including incitement of insurrection. The findings may be used to hold individuals, notably Donald Trump, legally accountable and inform new legislation to prevent similar attacks in the future.
The committee is considering recommending criminal charges against certain individuals, including former President Donald Trump, for their involvement in the events of January 6. On November 18, 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John L. Smith as Special Counsel to oversee the DOJ's investigations. In March 2022, federal judge David Carter said it was "more likely than not" that Trump had engaged in a conspiracy to commit federal crimes.
Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, had a call with Rudy Giuliani, Representative Jim Jordan, and Representative Scott Perry on January 6 to encourage Trump supporters to march to the Capitol. After the riot, Meadows exchanged texts with Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News host Sean Hannity that revealed efforts to overturn the election results. Rick Perry sent Meadows a proposed strategy for Republican-controlled state legislatures to choose electors and send them directly to the Supreme Court. The committee subpoenaed Meadows but he stopped cooperating and was voted to be held in contempt of Congress. Representative Schiff had said in September that he favored a criminal referral for Trump and hoped the committee would do so unanimously. The documents obtained by a committee investigating Donald Trump revealed that allies had privately expressed disagreement with the events of January 6, yet defended Trump in public. Trump attempted to delay the release of the documents for five months, but the committee received them in January 2022. They included a PowerPoint presentation from January 5 which suggested Trump declare a national security emergency, and phone records from the day of the attack which suggested he may have been using a "burner" phone.
Trump instructed Republican leaders not to cooperate with the committee and some individuals refused to testify. However, many testified voluntarily and White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson eventually had a public hearing. Bill Stepien, Donald Trump's final campaign manager, was subpoenaed for a second public hearing, but canceled when his wife went into labor. On October 21, 2022, Trump sued to block the subpoena for documents and testimony related to the Capitol attack. In July 2022, Chairs Thompson and Maloney of the House Homeland Security and Oversight & Reforms Committees, respectively, requested a new Inspector General to investigate the failure of Trump-appointed DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to report lost text messages from Secret Service agents. Calls for President Biden to dismiss Cuffari increased, with Senator Durbin leading the charge.
The RNC was declared a legitimate investigative body in May 2022, and House Minority Leader McCarthy warned of investigations by the incoming Republican-majority House. Trump's Save America PAC provided legal defense funds, and the Committee published its findings in December 2022.
The hearings focused on Trump's pressure campaign on the Justice Department, his insistence on election fraud conspiracy theories, and his effort to install Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general. Election officials from Arizona and Georgia testified they were pressured to "find votes" and change results. Witnesses also revealed Trump knew supporters at the Ellipse rally were armed and planned to join the crowd at the Capitol. In 2021, the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack began its investigation with a preliminary public hearing. During 2022, the Committee held ten live televised public hearings which presented evidence of Trump's seven-part plan to overturn the 2020 election results. Judge David Carter ruled that an email in John Eastman's possession contained likely evidence of a crime, leading to a criminal referral for conspiracy and seditious conspiracy. The committee also recommended the House Ethics Committee follow up on four members who refused to answer subpoenas.
The committee's investigation included nine hearings, revealing how Roger Stone and Michael Flynn connected Trump to domestic militias like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys that helped coordinate the attack. On December 19, 2022, the House Committee criminally referred former President Donald Trump and John Eastman to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for four suspected crimes. Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and Jeffrey Clark were identified as “actors” in the plot, but the committee decided it lacked sufficient evidence to refer them.
The committee released hundreds of witness testimony transcripts in December 2022, revealing testimony from 34 witnesses including Ivanka Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr. In late 2022, the committee released its final report, with the Executive Summary outlining 17 findings central to its reasoning for criminal referrals. Several publishing houses will print the full report with a foreword by Schiff, an introduction by David Remnick, and an epilogue by Raskin. On December 22, 2022, the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol published its final report, placing blame on former President Donald Trump for inciting the riot and identifying Kenneth Chesebro as the plot's architect. U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were subject to racial abuse and physical attacks during the attack. The committee requested documents from 15 social media companies and records from seven government agencies in the two months leading up to the attack.
They subpoenaed Stop the Steal LLC, organizer Ali Alexander, Nathan Martin, Amy Kremer, Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, Kash Patel, Jeffrey Clark and Jeffrey Rosen. On October 21, all 229 House members voted to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress and refer his case to the DOJ. On October 25, Biden said he would not assert executive privilege regarding a second batch of documents requested by the committee. On October 30, NARA detailed that Trump sought to block 750 pages of documents requested by the committee. On November 5, Jeffrey Clark refused to cooperate unless compelled by a court order due to attorney-client privilege. On November 8, the committee subpoenaed six people suspected of involvement in a "war room" operation at the Willard Hotel. The committee subpoenaed 10 people to provide documents and testify under oath by December. Trump attempted to stop the National Archives (NARA) from releasing documents, but was denied by a judge and appealed unsuccessfully to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. On November 15, Steve Bannon was federally indicted and on November 24 Trump's lawyers argued Biden's willingness to release records served his "own political advantage". Subpoenas were issued for InfoWars host Alex Jones, Republican operative Roger Stone, two Stop the Steal organizers, and Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich. Trump appealed to the Supreme Court, which denied his request on January 19, 2022.
The committee voted unanimously to hold Jeffrey Clark in contempt for invoking the Fifth Amendment, and Colonel Earl G. Matthews sent a 36-page memorandum contesting the DoD Inspector General report. Mark Meadows' attorney said he would cease cooperating with the committee, and Meadows sued Pelosi and the committee to block his subpoena. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's appeal to have his White House records withheld, but allowed two weeks for appeal to the Supreme Court. The Guardian reported that Meadows had turned over a PowerPoint presentation and email which suggested declaring a national security emergency to delay certification of electors. On Dec. 12, the House committee released a report detailing email and text messages suggesting Trump tried to persuade legislators to change elector slates from Biden to Trump. Three days later, dozens of legislators wrote Pence asking for certification of electors to be postponed. On Dec. 13, Cheney read text messages suggesting Trump committed a felony. On Dec. 14, the House voted 222-208 to find Rep. Meadows in criminal contempt and refer the matter to the Justice Department. Trump appealed to the Supreme Court but was rejected. The committee requested a meeting with Rep. Jordan and subpoenaed Roger Stone, Waldron, and Bernard Kerik. Trump's attorney complained to the Supreme Court that the investigation may not have a legislative purpose. The committee asked Rep. McCarthy to provide information but he refused. On Jan. 10, attention was drawn to a fake electors scheme likely connected to the Capitol attack. Rep. Jordan declined the committee's request for an interview. The Supreme Court ruled that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) could release Trump White House documents to the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election. The committee was investigating fraudulent certificates of ascertainment created by Trump allies and in communication with former U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Pentagon officials. Additionally, they subpoenaed Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Pence, and asked Ivanka Trump for an interview.
John Eastman, an attorney for former President Trump, attempted to protect 19,000 emails subpoenaed by the committee from release by claiming attorney-client privilege. However, the judge ordered the emails released to Eastman's legal team. The committee also subpoenaed Peter Navarro and Kelli and Michael Ward, who filed suit to prevent their telephone carrier from releasing their records.
On February 15, Biden rejected Trump's claim of executive privilege over White House visitor logs from January 6, 2021. On March 2, the committee stated in a court filing that it had evidence that Trump and his campaign had violated multiple laws in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the US. The Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's challenge to the release of NARA records. Rudy Giuliani's attorneys suggested he may not comply with his subpoena due to the committee's treatment of Eastman. Kimberly Guilfoyle was also subpoenaed as she was connected to fundraising for the rallies before the attack. A federal judge reviewed 111 of John Eastman's emails to determine if they were covered by attorney-client or work-product privilege. The RNC attempted to block the committee's subpoena of Salesforce for fundraising information.
Documents obtained by the committee included a text message from Donald Trump Jr. outlining ways to subvert the Electoral College process. The Guardian reported evidence of a coordinated assault by the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, as well as possible coordination with Save America rally organizers. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were interviewed for 8 and 6 hours, respectively. No record of phone calls made by President Trump on January 6 had been found. Judge David O. Carter found it "more likely than not" that Trump and Eastman had dishonestly conspired to obstruct Congress on January 6.
The committee issued subpoenas to five House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan, and Rudy Giuliani declined to testify. Judge Carter ruled that Eastman must disclose 159 sensitive documents, including evidence of a crime. On June 3, Peter Navarro was arrested for contempt of Congress, while DOJ declined to prosecute Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino. On June 15, Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin reported there was enough evidence to recommend that the Justice Department indict President Donald Trump. The House Oversight Committee held seven public hearings between June 9 and July 18 regarding the attack on the Capitol. At the first hearing, new footage and witness testimony was shown, and it was revealed that Representative Scott Perry had requested a pardon from the Trump administration. During the second hearing, emails from December 24, 2020 were reported on by the New York Times. The third hearing revealed Trump promoted false narratives to exploit donors. The committee requested an interview with Ginni Thomas and released an email exchange about a Wisconsin case to be brought before the Supreme Court. On July 8, former White House counsel Pat Cipollone testified for eight hours and was subpoenaed on June 29. Former DOJ officials testified live on June 23 about how Trump tried to enlist the DOJ to overturn the election. Documentary filmmaker Alex Holder was subpoenaed the previous week. On July 12, Representative Liz Cheney revealed Trump had called a committee witness who had not yet testified publicly. On July 11, a judge ruled Bannon's lawyers cannot argue the committee's subpoena violated House rules. Jury selection began for Bannon's trial on July 18 and Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock, testified in closed doors. The committee subpoenaed the Secret Service for text messages from January 5–6 that agents had deleted. Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress and will be sentenced on October 21. The Secret Service said it could not recover the text messages and the National Archives called for an investigation. The committee interviewed former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other former Cabinet officials, and requested Cuffari step aside from the investigation into the missing Secret Service texts. They may subpoena Ginni Thomas, received Alex Jones's text messages, and requested documents and interviews from DHS IG Cuffari. Former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney spoke to the committee for 2.5 hours. The Secret Service provided thousands of exhibits in response to a July 15 subpoena and the committee planned a public hearing for Sept. 28 and an interim report for mid-Oct. Action was taken against five Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate, and the Department of Justice is expanding its criminal probe into January 6.
The committee discussed investigative threads such as subpoenaing former president Trump, Mike Pence, Ginni Thomas, and Mike Pompeo, Elaine Chao, and Robert O'Brien testified. They also withdrew their subpoena against the Republican National Committee and Salesforce and requested Newt Gingrich appear for an interview. Tony Ornato retired as the assistant director of the Office of Training at the Secret Service, but agreed to cooperate with investigations. Politico reported that aides had traveled to Copenhagen to view documentary footage filmed by Christoffer Guldbrandsen. The committee asked a federal judge in California for another 3,200 pages of emails from John Eastman and asked the judge to review the remaining batch of emails and decide whether Eastman's claims of executive privilege are valid.
John McEntee testified that Representative Matt Gaetz sought a preemptive presidential pardon relating to an ongoing DOJ investigation into possible violations of federal sex trafficking laws. Chairman Thompson stated that, in addition to possibly making referrals to the DOJ, the select committee may make referrals to other agencies like the Federal Election Commission. The select committee also released a snippet of radio communications between Oath Keepers who followed live news coverage of the attack and reacted to President Trump's tweets. Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) filed a lawsuit against the Jan. 6 Select Committee after receiving a subpoena to testify. On September 23, Denver Riggleman, a former senior technical adviser for the committee, stated on 60 Minutes that a call was connected from the White House switchboard to a Capitol rioter. Ginni Thomas agreed to a voluntary interview.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney and Representative Zoe Lofgren announced they would propose changes to the Electoral Count Act to make it harder to overturn a certified presidential election in the future. On September On October 31, Judge Carl Nichols dismissed Mark Meadows' lawsuit against a September 23, 2021 subpoena issued by the Select Committee regarding Donald Trump's testimony and records. On October 28, 8 emails were provided by Eastman's lawyers, that had been deemed important by Judge David Carter. On October 25, Hope Hicks testified, and on October 19, Judge Carter ordered Eastman to turn over 33 documents. Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in prison on October 21 for refusing to testify. On October 13, the Select Committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, who responded with a 14-page letter. On October 11, the US Capitol Police investigated a suspicious letter sent to Chairman Thompson and found it not to be a threat.
U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed Ward's request to toss out the February 15 subpoena on October 7, and Kelli Ward declined to answer questions during her subpoenaed testimony on October 4. Ginni Thomas voluntarily testified in person on September 29 and the Select Committee postponed its public hearing due to Hurricane Ian. Vice-chair Liz Cheney stated the committee was "in discussions" with Trump's lawyers for his testimony under oath on November 1.
The committee interviewed Wisconsin assembly speaker Robin Vos on December 19, former head of Pence’s security detail Tim Giebels and Secret Service agent John Gutsmiedl on November 3, and former head of Trump's security detail Robert Engel on November 17. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward's request to quash the subpoena of her phone records on December 6. Trump sued the select committee to block the subpoena on November 11.
The Select Committee had its last public meeting summarizing their investigative findings on December 13, and rescheduled their vote on criminal referrals to December 19. Chairman Thompson said the committee would issue criminal referrals to the Department of Justice and House Minority Leader McCarthy wrote a letter warning of a potential investigation by the incoming Republican-majority House. U.S. Attorney General Garland requested all interview transcripts and Chairman Thompson stated they would not take any further witness testimony. The Select Committee's subpoena power derived from House Resolution 503, Section 5. Chairman Thompson notified Trump's lawyers that the investigation was ending and released its final report recommending criminal charges against Trump and referrals to the House Ethics Committee. The report recommended 18 U.S.C §§ 1512(c), 371, 1001, and 2383 be charged against Trump. The chair or designee had the power to initiate and authorize subpoenas according to the Congressional Research Service.
In October 2022, the committee subpoenaed former President Trump, five House Republicans, and requested telephone records for more than 100 people, some of whom sued. Stephen Bannon, Kash Patel, Daniel Scavino, Mark Meadows, William Stepien, Jeffrey Clark, Nathan Martin, Ali Alexander, Katrina Pierson, Lyndon Brentnall, Hannah Salem Stone, Megan Powers, Tim Unes, Justin Caporale, Maggie Mulvaney, Caroline Wren, Cynthia Chafian, Kylie Kremer, and Amy Kremer were all subpoenaed for various roles related to the "Stop the Steal" rally permit. Max Miller, Marc Short, Robert Patrick Lewis, Enrique Tarrio, Stewart Rhodes, Taylor Budowich, Jennifer Lawrence, Duston Stockton, Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Kenneth Klukowski, Cassidy Hutchinson, Stephen Miller, Kayleigh McEnany, Keith Kellogg, John McEntee, Ben Williamson, Molly Michael, Nicholas Luna, Bernard Kerik, Angela McCallum, Michael Flynn, John Eastman and Jason Miller were all involved in the 2021 Capitol insurrection investigation. Many were indicted or referred to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation.
Ross Worthington was a former White House official who helped draft Trump's January 6 rally speech. Arthur Schwartz and Andy Surabian were advisers to Donald Trump Jr., and Phil Waldron authored a PowerPoint presentation. Kimberly Fletcher and Ed Martin helped plan rallies, and Bryan Lewis was a Trump aide.
Brian Jack was the former Trump White House Political Director and Robert “Bobby” Peede Jr. was the former Deputy Assistant to Former President Trump and Director of Presidential Advance. Phone metadata revealed connections between Kimberly Guilfoyle, Nick Fuentes, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani.
False slates of Trump electors included Bill Bachenberg, James DeGraffenreid, Michael J. McDonald, Deborah W. Maestas, Jewll Powdrell, Mayra Rodriguez, Kathy Berden, Shawn Still, David Shafer, Loraine B. Pellegrino, Nancy Cottle, Patrick Casey, Nick Fuentes, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump, Boris Epshteyn, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Meta, Alphabet, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Ross Worthington, Arthur Schwartz, Andy Surabian, Phil Waldron, Kimberly Fletcher, Ed Martin, Bryan Lewis, Brian Jack and Robert “Bobby” Peede Jr.
On January 28th 2022 Judd Deere (Trump Deputy White House Press Secretary), Kelly Ruh (listed as secretary for Wisconsin on false slate of Trump electors), Andrew Hitt (listed as chairperson for Wisconsin on false slate of Trump electors), Lisa Patton (listed as secretary for Pennsylvania on false slate of Trump electors) and Peter Navarro (Trump economic advisor) were reported. On February 15th Mark Finchem (Arizona state legislator) and Salesforce.com (RNC's fundraising platform) On March 15, 2022, Kimberly Guilfoyle was reported as a Trump advisor and five attorneys were referred to the DOJ for working to overturn the election. On March 16, Kenneth Chesebro had a subpoena dropped against Salesforce. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was reported on May 31 and Reps. Mo Brooks, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry were referred to the DOJ on May 27. Former President Trump was sued on October 21 for not appearing on September 26. Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos reported White House deputy counsel Patrick Philbin had erased text messages from DHS on August 3 and the U.S. Secret Service was scheduled for closed-door, videotaped testimony on July 8. McCarthy warned Republican members they would be stripped of all their other committee assignments if they allowed Pelosi to appoint them, to which Kinzinger responded "Who gives a shit?" McCarthy labeled Pelosi a "lame duck speaker" and the Freedom Caucus pushed for him to file a motion to vacate the speakership. The Wall Street Journal criticized Pelosi for rejecting McCarthy's picks and appointing Adam Schiff, and the San Francisco Chronicle said she should have also rejected Rep. Troy Nehls. Some House Republicans said they did not watch the committee's first hearing and Rep. Matthew M. Rosendale said he watched Rep. Liz Cheney speak but not the police officers' testimony. On December 23, Laurence Tribe and colleagues published in The New York Times urging Attorney General Garland to hold all those involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection accountable. Reps. Scott Perry and Newt Gingrich criticized the House committee investigating the insurrection and Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project criticized its slow progress. In late August 2021, McCarthy threatened telecommunications and social media companies with legal action if they complied with the committee's subpoenas and eleven House Republicans associated with the "Stop the Steal" rally sent a letter refusing to consent to the release of confidential call records. In June 2021, the House of Representatives voted to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The resolution was introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and passed with a vote of 252-175. The committee includes Reps. Jordan, Thompson, Kinzinger, Cheney, Luria, Raskin, Murphy and Aguilar. Rep. Kinzinger was censured by the RNC in Feb. 2022 for his participation.
A June 2022 Ipsos poll found that 60% of Americans believe the committee's investigation is fair and impartial, while 78% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans approve of their work. An NBC News poll found that the percentage of Americans who believed Trump was solely or mainly responsible for the attack decreased from 52% to 45%. A Washington Post–ABC News poll in April 2022 found that 52% of Americans believe Trump should face criminal charges.
The committee released several transcripts of interviews and other documents related to their investigation. On December 19, 2022, the committee released its final report, which was accompanied by a forward from Speaker Pelosi. The report included several key findings and recommendations for reform.
The Justice Department requested transcripts from the January 6 committee, and four GOP lawmakers were referred to the House Ethics panel for not complying with subpoenas. Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was indicted for contempt of Congress, and the House voted to hold ex-Trump aides Navarro and Scavino in contempt. Former adviser Bannon filed an appeal for his contempt of Congress conviction, and some Trump allies cooperated with the committee. John Eastman was referred for charges, and the committee sent a criminal referral to the DOJ. Fox News announced it would not carry live coverage of the hearings, instead airing special editions of Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity with criticism of the hearing. Members of the committee were given increased security due to threats. Trump sued the committee, and Thompson and Cheney issued a statement on his subpoena defiance. Chairman Bennie Thompson announced Rep. Liz Cheney as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol in September 2021. In August 2021, Richmond Times-Dispatch reported the committee had hired a chief investigative counsel, and the Select Committee announced additional senior staff members, including former GOP Congressman Denver Riggleman.
In December 2021, CNN reported the committee was ramping up efforts to uncover funding behind the Capitol riot, while The Guardian focused on far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The New York Times reported on the committee's consideration of a criminal referral, and Reuters reported the committee was releasing a report the following month. Several news sources reported on the Cawthorn Challenge in January 2022.
In March 2022, CNN reported the committee was probing security failures and potential funding sources behind the Capitol riot, while Just Security reported on lessons learned from the intelligence failures. In April 2022, HuffPost reported two Congress members had lost bids to block re-election challenges over US Capitol riot.
In March 2022, a federal judge found Trump most likely committed crimes over 2020 election. The Justice Dept. was investigating Trump's actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe in July 2022, and 41 House Democrats introduced a bill to bar "insurrectionist" Trump from presidency in December 2022.
Chairman of the committee said the panel had started producing information for DOJ in July 2022, and the full report would come out December 21. Special Counsel Jack Smith released a statement regarding the investigation and appointment of a special counsel in November 2022. CNN reported on December 8, 2022 that the House Jan. 6 Committee was considering criminal referrals for at least four people besides Trump. Politico reported on December 16 that the panel would vote on urging DOJ to prosecute Trump on at least three criminal charges. The Washington Post reported on December 23 that the committee was focusing on Trump's hours of silence during the attack. Rep. Adam Schiff said any criminal referral should be decided unanimously. The New York Times reported that the committee had signaled it would issue criminal referrals.
Meadows was subpoenaed by the committee and sued for not complying. The DOJ backed the subpoena and eventually declined to charge Meadows with contempt of Congress. The House voted to hold Meadows in contempt, but he eventually complied. He was also accused of not properly turning over documents to the National Archives. On December 13, the committee held a hearing on Meadows and highlighted texts from Jim Jordan and other Trump administration officials, recommending criminal prosecution. CNN uncovered texts between Meadows and the White House as the riot unfolded, as well as communications between Fox News' Hannity and the White House.
Texts between Ginni Thomas and Meadows showed she urged him to pursue efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Military-intelligence veterans led Trump's campaign of disinformation, and an audit of Maricopa county was conducted by a Trump-allied firm with a history of false election statements. The committee examined a PowerPoint document sent to Meadows setting out a plan for Trump to stage a coup. Ex-National Archivist believes Trump is hiding records to avoid "prison time". Giuliani has been aided by an OAN host in Trump's legal efforts, and emails have shown Trump allies' connections to a push for the seizure of voting machines.
The Trump White House had been accused of destroying documents and providing less detail about Trump's activities before the riot. The Supreme Court ended Trump's legal fight to block document turnover to the January 6th probe, after earlier rulings from appeals and district courts rejected his effort to deny records. In December 2021, a Jan. 6 committee member previewed details of the panel's upcoming report while DOJ prosecutors sought testimony from former Vice President Pence in January 6 criminal probe. Pence announced plans to release a memoir in November and said he'd "consider" testifying before the Jan. 6 committee. Ivanka Trump testified to the House panel in April 2022.
The hearings provided a template for digital-era dramatics, with Republicans presenting a narrative of their own. With the help of a judge ruling, the committee was able to obtain RNC and Trump campaign email data, while Trump's team directed allies to a Jan. 6 legal defense fund.
The House Oversight Committee sent a letter to Joseph V. Cuffari and Allison C. Lerner regarding the missing texts in July. The Secret Service had identified potential missing texts on phones of 10 individuals, while DHS watchdog decried 'onslaught of meritless criticism' amid Jan. 6 Secret Service texts flap. The Washington Post reported that phones of top Pentagon officials had been wiped of messages related to the attack, and CNN reported that texts had been wiped from phones of key Trump Pentagon officials.
The Jan. 6 committee issued its final report on Dec. 22, 2022, stating that "our democratic institutions are only as strong as the commitment of those who are entrusted with their care." The report included a summary and evidence gathered from the RNC and Trump campaign emails, as well as from witness testimonies given at hearings and from police accounts of the attack. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Trump's actions would be exposed at the Jan. 6 panel hearings, which began on June 9, 2022. The committee launched an ethics complaint, issued a subpoena to Trump, and held hearings to account for the Capitol attack. On December 22, 2022, the committee released 34 witness testimonies and referred Trump for criminal prosecution. Cheney and Kinzinger prepared for a key hearing, which released its final report on December 23, 2022. The report placed blame on "one man" and revealed unseen material. On July 27th, the first hearing of the Select Committee was held, featuring four police officers and video of an officer being crushed against a door by a mob. The House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been investigating whether Trump's White House was involved in the attack. To that end, they have subpoenaed Mark Meadows and Kash Patel and requested records from Trump's inner circle. On October 8, 2021, President Biden refused to assert privilege over documents sought by the committee.
The committee has also subpoenaed far-right leaders and groups, including Roger Stone and Alex Jones. On November 15, 2021, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon surrendered after his indictment on two counts of contempt of Congress. On December 1, 2021, the committee recommended a contempt prosecution for former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark.
The White House sent an email about a PowerPoint on how to end American democracy and Meadows submitted a PowerPoint plan for Trump to overthrow the election. Meadows sued the January 6 committee, which is now moving forward with criminal contempt for him. Text messages between Meadows and committee staff have been revealed, and the committee is considering whether Trump violated obstruction law. The committee is recommending criminal prosecution for Meadows and has issued over 100 subpoenas for phone records. Katie Benner and Catie Edmondson reported on Jan. 23, 2021 that Rep. Scott Perry had played a key role in Trump's plot to oust the acting attorney general. The House January 6 Committee requested an interview with Perry on Dec. 20 and subpoenaed the author of a PowerPoint plan for coup on Dec. 16. Roger Stone appeared before the panel on Dec. 17 and pleaded the Fifth.
Trump asked the Supreme Court to block the release of his White House records to the committee on Dec. 23, and Rep. Bennie Thompson sent a letter to Jim Jordan that day requesting him to cooperate. The committee also requested an interview with Jordan, who refused, and revealed a new Meadows text message on Dec. 23. On Dec. 31, Bernard Kerik provided documents to the committee and Trump wanted the Supreme Court to read an interview with Rep. Thompson on Dec. 29. Jan Wolfe reported on Dec. 25 that Trump had cooperated with the panel.
Andrew Kaczynski and Melanie Zanona reported on Jan. 14, 2022 that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Trump had admitted bearing some responsibility for the Capitol attack on Jan. 6. The committee had asked McCarthy to provide information voluntarily and was ramping up its investigation into Trump's state-level pressure on Jan. 10.
On Jan. 12, Ivanka Trump was asked to cooperate with the committee and Sarah Huckabee Sanders testified in secret meetings with the panel on Jan. 20. Ginni Thomas attended the 'Stop-the-Steal' rally before the Capitol attack on March 14, 2022.
William Barr resigned as Attorney General on Dec. 15, 2020 and was subpoenaed by the January 6 committee on Jan. 23, 2022; he tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony on May 19, 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Thompson in favor of the House getting Trump White House documents on Jan. 19, 2022. Mike Pence's former chief of staff testified in the House January 6 investigation on June 4, 2022. The US District Court for the District of Arizona subpoenaed phone records of Arizona GOP chair on Feb. 1, 2022, and Trump's lawyer was ordered to respond to January 6 committee subpoena for his Chapman University emails on Jan. 24, 2022. The Republican National Committee is suing the January 6th committee for subpoenaing data from software vendor Salesforce. Evidence suggests a "criminal conspiracy" to block Congress from certifying the election and Trump's involvement in proposals to seize voting machines. The committee has subpoenaed individuals, White House spokesman, and requested documents from the National Archives and Secret Service. Court records revealed a plan to keep Trump in office on January 6th.
Donald Trump Jr. texted Mark Meadows ideas for overturning the election before it was called, and Capitol attack investigators are focusing on far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Jared Kushner was interviewed by the committee, and White House records showed a 7-hour gap in Trump's phone log on January 6th. The committee had evidence for a criminal referral of Trump, but was split on sending it.
The Trump White House was lobbied by two congressional allies to overturn the election, according to a CNN exclusive. The New York Times reported two Trump White House lawyers met with January 6th investigators. The committee obtained footage of GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk and text messages between Meadows and other Republicans discussing alarm over the events of January 6th.
The committee is pursuing interviews with former Attorney General William Barr, Rudy Giuliani, and five GOP lawmakers close to President Trump. Additionally, it is seeking evidence from the RNC and 37,000 pages of emails related to the Trump Administration. Thompson and Cheney released a statement on the Justice Department's decisions regarding contempt referrals. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger has announced that the Jan. 6 panel he oversees will expose former President Trump's disregard for the Constitution and his oath. Discovery+ has acquired the rights to a documentary about the 2020 election. The House panel investigating Jan. 6 has subpoenaed unseen Trump tapes and requested interviews with Ginni Thomas, Virginia Thomas, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk. It has also obtained evidence that Trump knew he lost the election and profited from it, and that members of Congress asked Trump for pardons after Jan. 6.
Jamie Raskin, chair of the January 6 committee, has stated it still wants to hear from Ginni Thomas and has the power to subpoena her. Steve Bannon's sentencing is set for October 21 and DHS has launched a criminal probe into the destruction of Secret Service texts. Marshall Cohen was reported to have attacked witnesses and lawmakers in a profane and sexist rant. Matt Gaetz and at least five other members of Congress have reportedly asked Trump for pardons. The committee requested texts from Alex Jones and Carolyn B. Maloney and Bennie G. Thompson wrote to Joseph V. Cuffari expressing concerns about transparency.
The committee sought footage of Roger Stone from Danish filmmakers, and investigators traveled to Copenhagen to view it. Robert O'Brien, Elaine Chao, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, and Newt Gingrich have been interviewed by the committee or requested for testimony. The committee also issued 40 subpoenas in one week and withdrew a subpoena for RNC data. It is set to meet in person on September 28, 2022 and may release its report on Trump and the Capitol attack before the midterms. The House passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 on July 20, 2022, to prevent a repeat of the Jan. 6 attack. On Sept. 19, Rep. Zoe Lofgren introduced a bill to reform the electoral vote counting process. The January 6 Committee was established on Dec. 19, 2022 to investigate the attack, conducting interviews, gathering evidence, and issuing criminal referrals against Trump. On May 12, 2022, the Select Committee subpoenaed several members of Congress and referred those who failed to comply to the House Ethics Committee for sanction. The Committee's final report was released on Dec. 21, 2022. The US Code contains sections related to criminal activity that may be relevant to the investigation. On December 20, 2022, news outlets reported on the muted response of the GOP to criminal referrals related to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The Select Committee's Executive Summary revealed that sufficient evidence exists for a criminal referral of John Eastman and other Trump associates.
The House January 6 Committee is investigating the attack, issuing over 100 subpoenas to witnesses and documents, including four to GOP lawmakers. Trump refused to testify and legal precedent was used to enforce subpoenas. Michael Flynn lost his legal challenge to the probe and four GOP lawmakers were referred to the House Ethics panel for non-compliance.
The committee set a contempt vote for former DOJ official Mary Clare Jalonick (Nov. 29, 2021) and issued a subpoena for Stop the Steal LLC (Oct. 7, 2021). Pro-Trump group organizer received a grand jury subpoena (Apr. 8, 2022) and raised money for its legal defense (Oct. 26, 2021). Kashyap Patel ditched his deposition (Oct. 14, 2021) while Steve Bannon faced a criminal contempt charge (Oct. 15, 2021).
New Round of Trump Insiders Subpoenaed by January 6th Committee (Nov. 9, 2021) included Michael Flynn who took the Fifth Amendment during a hearing (Mar. 10, 2022) and later sued the committee (Dec. 22, 2021). Flynn's deposition was postponed (Dec. 6, 2021).
The committee questioned Cassidy Hutchinson (June 28, 2022), Kayleigh McEnany (Jan. 12, 2022), and Bernard Kerik (Jan. 13, 2022). Subpoenas were also issued for Roger Stone and Alex Jones, who both pleaded the Fifth in their depositions. Former White House aides, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and a former top aide to Mike Pence were also subpoenaed. In January 2022, the January 6 Committee subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, four other Trump lawyers, social media companies, Trump-backed congressional candidates, and the author of the "Coup PowerPoint". They also subpoenaed "alternate electors" from seven states, Eric Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle's phone records, Sidney Powell, and Peter Navarro. In October 2022, Kelli Ward took the fifth during a deposition, and in February 2022 the committee subpoenaed six people tied to a false pro-Trump elector effort. In March 2022 they subpoenaed attempts to delay certification of election results and Salesforce.com. Doug Mastriano sued over the subpoena and GOP Pennsylvania Gov. Nominee used campaign funds for a lawyer for the committee. In August 2022 the committee subpoenaed former Deputy White House counsel and the Secret Service for records in July 2022. On June 29, 2022 they issued a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and subpoenas to five Republican Representatives on May 12, 2022. In September 2022 Wisconsin House Speaker filed a lawsuit against the committee, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy threatened telecoms leading an ethics watchdog to request an investigation. Newsmax and Fox News Channel will not broadcast coverage of the hearing, while Republicans mocked Newt Gingrich's threat of "jail" for the Jan. 6 panel and Scott Perry refused to comply with the investigation. Lawmakers on Jan. 6 committee have increased their security due to threats. Fox News and Newsmax attempted to spin the hearing while Tucker Carlson said the panel is "lying and we are not going to help them do it". In June 2022, polls from The Economist/YouGov, Ipsos, NBC News, The Washington Post, and Pew Research Center found that a majority of Americans think Donald Trump should be charged for the January 6 attack. A poll from MSNBC in July 2021 found that most Americans support a congressional investigation into the incident. Transcripts and the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol can be found on GovInfo, with additional media available on Wikimedia Commons. The page was last edited on 8 January 2023 at 10:35 UTC by OCNative.