Trump tried to call Jan. 6 committee witness, Cheney says

The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 used its seventh hearing Tuesday to focus on what it said was then-President Donald Trump "summoning the mob" to the Capitol, including extremist groups.

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Jul 12, 4:44 PM

Cheney previews next hearing, rioter apologizes to officers

Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in her closing statement the committee's next hearing will analyze "minute by minute" what was going on at the White House as the events of Jan. 6 unfolded.

"You will hear that Trump never picked up the phone that day to order his administration to help," Cheney said. "This is not ambiguous. He did not call the military. The secretary of defense received no order. He did not call his attorney general. He did not talk to the Department of Homeland Security. Mike Pence did all of those things."

After the hearing ended, witness Stephen Ayres turned to the members of law enforcement sitting in the front row and apologized for participating in the insurrection. In the front row were Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell, Capitol Police officers on Jan. 6 and then-Metropolitan Police Department officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges.

Jul 12, 4:12 PM

Trump tried to call a committee witness: Cheney

Vice Chair Liz Cheney said, in closing the hearing, that Trump himself tried to call a witness who she said has not yet publicly testified.

"After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation -- a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings," she said.

Cheney said the witness did not answer the call.

"Their lawyer alerted us, and this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice," she said.

"Let me say one more time, we will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously," she added, as the committee continually warns against witness tampering in its ongoing investigation.

Jul 12, 4:00 PM

Raskin says Trump's legacy is 'American carnage'

Closing the hearing attempting to connect extremists directly to Trump and subsequent violence at the Capitol, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Trump's legacy on America is "American carnage."

"The Watergate break-in was like a Cub Scout meeting compared to this assault on our people and institutions," he said.

Raskin said that authoritarian parties have two essential features in common: "They do not accept the results of democratic elections when they lose," and "They embrace political violence as legitimate," attitudes which, he argued, Trump embraced.

"American democracy is a precious inheritance, something rare in the history of the world and even on Earth today," he said. "We need to defend both our democracy and our freedom with everything we have and declare that this American carnage ends here and now."

Jul 12, 3:56 PM

Raskin praises Capitol officer who was wounded during riot

Raskin praised Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, an Iraq War veteran who was injured during the violent attack.

Gonell was assaulted by the rioters, leading to permanent damage to his left shoulder and right foot that "make it impossible for him to continue as a police officer," Raskin said.

"Sgt. Gonell, we wish you and your family all the best. We are here for you, we salute you for your valor, your eloquence and your beautiful commitment to America," Raskin said of Gonell, who could be seen wiping away tears.

"I wonder what former President Trump would say to someone like Sgt. Gonell, who must now go about remaking his life. I wonder if he could even understand what motivates a patriot like Sgt. Gonell."

Jul 12, 3:53 PM

Capitol rioter describes what he said was Trump’s influence on Jan. 6

Stephen Ayres, who recently admitted to illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, testified Tuesday how influential he said Trump was over the actions of those who participated in the insurrection. Ayres said he didn't intend to storm the Capitol if Trump hadn't 'riled up' those at his Ellipse rally to march to the area.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., asked Ayres if it would've made a difference to know that Trump himself knew by Jan. 6 that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

"Oh, definitely. Who knows, I may not have come down here, then," Ayres said.

Ayres described how he and other rioters left the Capitol right after Trump posted several tweets telling them to go home, and if he had issued the posts earlier "we maybe wouldn't be in this bad of a situation."

Ayres said it makes him angry that Trump continues to push election lies.

"I was hanging on every word you're saying," Ayres told the committee. "I was following it. If I was doing it, hundreds of thousands or millions of other people are doing it."

Jul 12, 3:36 PM

Witness describes Oath Keepers as 'a dangerous militia'

Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesman for the Oath Keepers militia group testifying in-person this afternoon, characterized the group as "a dangerous militia."

During his time working for the Oath Keepers, he said, the group "drifted into white nationalism" and "straight racism" with founder Stuart Rhodes at the helm. Van Tatenhove ultimately broke with the organization.

Rhodes and members of both the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Jul 12, 3:25 PM

Brad Parscale said he felt 'guilty' for helping Trump win: Committee

The committee displayed what it said were text messages between former Trump campaign advisers Brad Parscale and Katrina Pierson on the evening of Jan. 6. Parscale expressed guilt for helping Trump win the presidency.

"This is about Trump pushing for uncertainty in our country. A sitting president asking for civil war," Parscale wrote.

Pierson responded, "you did what you felt right at the time and therefore it was right," to which Parscale replied, "yeah. But a woman is dead" -- likely referring to Ashli Babbitt, a California woman fatally shot during the Capitol attack.

Parscale said it was Trump's rhetoric that led to her death.

Jul 12, 3:20 PM

Cipollone claims privilege when asked why he wasn't in Trump, Pence, Eastman meeting

Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone claimed privilege not to answer when asked by committee investigators in taped testimony why he wasn't allowed in an Oval Office meeting with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and attorney John Eastman on Jan. 4, 2021.

"I did walk to that meeting, and I ultimately did not attend," Cipollone said. "The reasons for that are privileged."

Cipollone said that he and Pence both believed Eastman's theory for overturning the election was "nutty" and recalled that he told someone in Pence's office that the vice president could "just blame me" for refusing to go along with Eastman's plan.

"I think the vice president did the right thing. I think he did the courageous thing," Cipollone said, adding that he suggested Pence should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for carrying out his oath of office, under immense pressure from Trump.

Jul 12, 3:18 PM

Republicans met with White House to plot VP's role on Jan. 6

Rep. Stephanie Murphy described a Dec. 21, 2020 meeting regarding Jan. 6 that involved the White House and several Republican members of Congress.

The focus of that meeting, Murphy said, was the vice president’s role in the certification of the 2020 election and the “Eastman theory” -- a legal theory pushed by Trump attorney John Eastman that the vice president could single-handedly reject electors.

Murphy said lawmakers in attendance were Brian Babin, Andy Biggs, Louis Gohmert, Scott Perry, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Andy Harris, Jody Hice, Jim Jordan and Congresswoman-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Jul 12, 3:19 PM

Trump called Bannon at least twice day before riot: Committee

Trump spoke with former top aide Steve Bannon at least twice the day before the Jan. 6 riot, the committee said, citing evidence it said obtained from the White House.

Murphy revealed call logs showing the time stamps of the two conversations before playing clips from Bannon's radio show he recorded after the first conversation.

"All hell is going to break loose tomorrow," Bannon said. "It's all converging, and now we're on, as they say, the point of attack, right, the point of attack tomorrow."

"I'll tell you this, it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen," he added. "It's going to be quite extraordinarily different. And all I can say is, strap in."

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