Trump supporters descend on the Capitol, 6 January 2021
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Trump supporters descend on the Capitol, 6 January 2021
(AP)
After months of buildup, today sees the first public hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol. The bipartisan panel will be hearing from four law enforcement officers – two from the US Capitol Police and two from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, all of whom will be testifying “in their personal capacities” about “the law enforcement experience” that day.
The panel is going ahead with its work despite the refusal of Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to nominate a slate of representatives for his party’s allotted seats after Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his initial nominees, hardliners Jim Banks and Jim Jordan. Having chosen Trump critic Liz Cheney as part of her own slate, Ms Pelosi has now added equally anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger to the committee, bringing its membership to seven Democrats and two Republicans.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people arrested for their alleged part in the insurrection are awaiting legal proceedings, while many more are still being sought by federal law enforcement.
Recommended House Republicans protest ‘treatment of 6 January prisoners’ as riot committee meets for first time Pelosi appoints Republican Adam Kinzinger to Capitol riot committee McCarthy threatens to pull Republican picks from Capitol riot committee after Pelosi refuses two members DEA agent arrested after filming himself with firearm while storming Capitol
Key points Committee will hear from four law enforcement officers on their experiences of the riot GOP leaders have still refused to put forward new members after Nancy Pelosi rejected two of their nominations Panel features Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, the only Republicans to vote for its creation
Show latest update 1627386040 Videos of insurrection defendants compiled for easy viewing
The nonprofit news site ProPublica, which specialises in investigative journalism, has compiled the 6 January video footage it has been able to obtain from the Department of Justice and posted it on one handy page, sorted by case. The footage is being introduced as evidence in cases against hundreds of alleged rioters.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 12:40
1627384240 When Michael Fanone met Kevin McCarthy
The select committee today will hear from Michael Fanone, an officer with the Washington Metropolitan Police, who was brutalised by rioters on 6 January – and who has since lobbied Congress heavily to fully recognise what happened to him and his fellow officers that day. His efforts have included meetings with top Republicans, something that has proved to be quite a challenge.
In June, Officer Fanone finally managed to secure a meeting with Kevin McCarthy after disputing the minority leader’s claim that his office had reached out to schedule one. Emerging from their encounter, he was not upbeat about it.
Footage from Officer Fanone’s body camera shows him being severely beaten by protesters who dragged him onto the Capitol steps.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 12:10
1627382440 FBI veteran: further political violence “a matter of time"
While some on the right are trying to present the 6 January insurrection as an anomaly, others are cautioning that it could be anything but. Peter Strzok, a 26-year counterintelligence veteran of the FBI, last night told MSNBC’s Deadline White House that given the ideas and conspiracy theories that are being shared on the American right, serious violence could well be in the offing.
As he pointed out, it’s not a matter of how many Americans are susceptible to these messages. “You don’t need most people. You need one, or two, or three, or five people and I do think it’s a matter of time, unfortunately, before we see deadly violence.”
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 11:40
1627380559 Who is Officer Harry Dunn?
Of the four witnesses appearing before the select committee today, one of the most pivotal is Harry Dunn, a Capitol Police officer who claims he was called the N-word while defending lawmakers against rioters who had stormed the Capitol.
Mr Dunn, who has served in law enforcement for some 13 years, has said in interviews that the Black officers who served on 6 January had a fundamentally different experience that day because of the implicit and explicit racism of many in the crowd – some of whom were carrying Confederate flags and were members of racist extremist groups.
Mr Dunn’s outspokenness since the insurrection has infuriated some on the right, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who recently branded him an “angry, left-wing political activist” and warned viewers that he has “very little in common with your average cop”. Mr Dunn’s lawyers responded by pointing out that Mr Carlson has never served in any uniform of any kind.
Harry Dunn’s lawyers hit out at Tucker Carlson after he brands Capitol police officer ‘angry’ activist The officer will testify at a 27 July hearing investigating the Capitol riot
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 11:09
1627378960 Questions raised about committee’s power
The select committee technically has subpoena power, meaning it can legally compel people to testify or submit information. But as pointed out by Duty to Warn, a group of mental health professionals who joined together to demonstrate that Donald Trump was not psychologically fit for office, enforcing subpoenas is easier said than done.
Among those who may be subpoenaed are sitting and former members of Congress, with rumours circulating since 6 January itself that some may have helped facilitate or even plan the attack.
According to the Washington Post’s Jacqueline Alemany, the fact that the Justice Department is led by a Democratic-appointed attorney general improves the committee’s chances of getting to see the witnesses and information it wants.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 10:42
1627377340 How Adam Kinzinger joined the committee
By asking Liz Cheney to serve when the select committee was first created, Nancy Pelosi achieved two things: she guaranteed the committee would be bipartisan, and she also ensured it would be quorate – meaning that when she rejected two of the GOP’s nominees and Kevin McCarthy withdrew all five, the panel could proceed with its work anyway.
Nonetheless, Ms Pelosi also tapped Adam Kinzinger to join. He and Ms Cheney were the only two Republicans to vote in favour of establishing the committee, and he has been one of Mr Trump’s most caustic Republican critics in Washington for years.
Accepting Ms Pelosi’s invitation on Sunday, Mr Kinzinger released a statement explaining why he said yes:
“Self-governance requires accountability and responsibility. My faith requires the same of me, truth is necessary for order, and that’s what I will do. Let me be clear, I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution – and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer.”
Read more below.
Pelosi appoints Republican Adam Kinzinger to Capitol riot committee Kinzinger is second Republican, after Liz Cheney, to confirm participation
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 10:15
1627375771 Take your seats: where the committee will meet
NBC Washington reporter Scott MacFarlane, who has covered the fallout from the insurrection extensively, last night posted a walkthrough of the room where the committee’s first hearing will be held.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 09:49
1627374640 Right-wing Republicans to protest treatment of alleged rioters
As the committee’s work gets underway, four of the most Trump-friendly Republicans in the House will be holding an event of their own – and not in solidarity with the panel’s work.
Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who have recently been on a fundraising speaking tour of the country, will be joined by Paul Gosar and Louie Gohmert at a press conference where they will “demand answers” from the Justice Department on the status of those arrested for their alleged part in the riot.
Mr Gaetz, notorious for his belligerent style, not only voted to oppose the certification of the election results after the riot but also suggested on the day itself that left-wing protesters might have infiltrated the crowd. Ms Greene, meanwhile, is even more given to conspiracy theories, including violent ones, and posed with members of a local militia movement during her run for Congress.
And for his part, Mr Gosar has been the focus of intense controversy for accusing Capitol Police of “lying in wait” for Ashli Babbitt, one of the four rioters who died that day. Liz Cheney laid into him over the comments, saying she had helped him put on his gas mask while the insurrection was underway.
Liz Cheney rips Paul Gosar over comments about Capitol Police Controversial Republican had previously described rioters as ‘peaceful patriots’
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 09:30
1627372849 Who’s on the panel?
The select committee is being headed up by Bennie Thompson, who also serves as the chair of the House Homeland Security committee. The House’s only serving Democrat from Mississippi, the 73-year-old congressman is not seen as a partisan warrior and has the respect of many Republican colleagues.？
'We have to get it right,' Dem vows as Jan. 6 probe begins Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson is about to pick up his duties as chairman of a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection
Alongside Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Mr Thompson is backed up by six other Democrats, among them two prominent figures from the Trump era: Adam Schiff, who led the first impeachment investigation into Donald Trump over his alleged Russian links and extortion of the Ukrainian government; and Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager at the former president’s Senate trial after the insurrection.
Filling out the Democratic team are Californa’s Zoe Lofgren and Pete Auguilar, Virginia’s Elaine Luria and Florida’s Stephanie Murphy.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 09:00
1627371296 Good morning
Welcome to our live coverage of the first hearing of the 6 January select committee. Stay tuned for updates.
Andrew Naughtie 27 July 2021 08:34
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