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- The first hearing from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attacks was held on Thursday.
- Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney spoke for the bulk of the time, placing then-President Donald Trump at the center of the riots.
- The hearing presented testimony from the president's daughter, the former attorney general, a Capitol police officer, Proud Boys, and Capitol rioters.
The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol held its first hearing on Thursday night after hearing countless interviews, sifting through thousands of documents, and dozens of subpoenas.
The committee offered an overview of its findings that then-President Donald Trump was at the heart of a multi-stage attempted coup to retain power, and showcased bits of testimony from former Attorney General Bill Barr, Capitol rioters, a Capitol police officer, a documentary filmmaker, Proud Boys, and even the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump.
At the hearing itself, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney presented the committee's case to show that the former president attempted to subvert the 2020 presidential election and bring to light his allies who assisted him along the way.
Here are the main takeaways from the two-hour hearing:
Hearings will show Trump and his allies staged 'an attempted coup'
Chairman Thompson didn't mince his words in his introductory speech on Thursday evening, as Insider's Jake Lahut reported.
"Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy, and ultimately, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, spurred a mob of domestic enemies of the Constitution to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy," Rep. Bennie Thompson said.
—Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) June 10, 2022
Cheney said Trump led a misinformation campaign that provoked the Jan. 6 violence
In a statement, Rep. Liz Cheney said Trump invested millions in campaign funds to purposely spread "false information, running ads he knew were false and convincing millions of Americans that the election was corrupt and he was the true president."
"As you will see," Cheney added, "this misinformation campaign provoked the violence on January 6."
Cheney, a Republican who has been outspokenly critical of Trump after Jan. 6's attack, also alleged that Trump or his allies were carrying out a multi-step plan to block Joe Biden's taking office after winning the electoral college vote.
"Over multiple months, Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power," Cheney said. "In our hearings, you will see evidence of each element of this plan."
Ivanka Trump says she 'accepted' the AG's opinion that there was no election fraud
The committee showed a short clip of a video testimony from the president's daughter, part of the eight hours she spent before the committee. Ivanka Trump was asked about Barr's assertion that there was no fraud to be found to overturn the presidential election.
"It affected my perspective," Ivanka Trump said. "I respect Attorney General Barr. So I accepted what he was saying."
—BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 10, 2022
Several members of Congress asked for pardons
Cheney said that Rep. Scott Perry, who refused to testify to the committee, directly asked for a pardon from Trump for working to install Jeff Clark as attorney general to further investigate the results of the election in a possible attempt to undermine confidence in a vote the Homeland Security Department had already called "the most secure in American history." She also said that several other Republican members of Congress asked for pardons from the president as well.
Trump's presidential debate comments 'tripled' Proud Boys membership
At the first presidential debate in September 2020, Trump told the Proud Boys in a statement to "stand back and stand by." A member of the Proud Boys testified to the House committee that the president's comment effectively "tripled" the membership of the militia. Its former leader, Enrique Tarrio, also said he wishes he made t-shirts of the moment.
Members of the Proud Boys stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and in a coordinated attempt, prevented Capitol Police from sealing off the tunnels of the building.
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