Jan. 6 Panel Expected to Share Ginni Thomas Testimony

Thursday's hearing is set to offer 'surprising' details, a look into Trump's 'state of mind'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 13, 2022 9:50 AM CDT
Thursday's Jan. 6 Hearing Set to Examine Trump's 'State of Mind'
Lawmakers are seated as the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a yearlong investigation, at the Capitol in Washington on June 9.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The House Jan. 6 committee is set to unveil "surprising" details, including evidence from former President Trump's Secret Service, about the 2021 attack on the Capitol in what's likely to be its last public hearing before the November midterm elections. The hearing Thursday afternoon, the 10th public session by the panel, is expected to delve into Trump's "state of mind" and the central role the defeated president played in the multipart effort to overturn the election, according to a committee aide. The panel is starting to sum up its findings: Trump, after losing the 2020 presidential election, launched an unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory, per the AP. The result was the deadly mob siege of the Capitol. At least five people died in the Jan. 6 attack and its aftermath, including a Trump supporter shot and killed by Capitol Police.

Unlike past hearings, this one isn't expected to feature live witnesses, though the panel is expected to share information from its recent interviews—including testimony from Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She was in contact with the White House during the run-up to Jan. 6. Fresh info about the movements of then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 and was rushed to safety, is also expected, according to a person familiar with the committee's planning. The committee also plans to show new video footage it received from the Secret Service of the rally on the White House Ellipse. Trump spoke there before encouraging his armed supporters to march to the Capitol and "fight like hell."

The hearing, which begins at 1pm Eastern, also will include new documentary footage captured from the day of the attack. For weeks, the panel has been in talks with the Secret Service after issuing a subpoena to produce missing text messages from that day. The hearing is expected to reveal fresh details from a massive trove of documents and other evidence provided by the Secret Service. The agency has turned over 1.5 million pages of documents and surveillance video to the committee, according to an agency spokesman. The Jan. 6 committee has been meeting for more than a year. Under committee rules, the panel is expected to produce a report of its findings, due after the election, likely in December. The committee will dissolve 30 days after publication of that report, and with the new Congress in January.

(More Jan. 6 hearings stories.)

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