Jan 6 live news: Panel examines Trump’s pressure on DoJ officials | Donald Trump News
In fifth hearing of the month, committee hears from Justice officials about Trump efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
- Former top officials from the US Justice Department will testify at Thursday’s hearing.
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy defends his decision to pull Republican picks from the panel last year.
- The hearing will focus on Trump’s efforts to “corrupt” the Justice Department in his attempt “to cling to power”, committee chair Bennie Thompson has said.
- The previous hearing looked at Trump’s push to pressure local and state officials to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.
These are the latest updates:
Top ex-Justice officials to testify
Former top officials from the Department of Justice will testify at Thursday’s hearing, the panel has announced.
Jeffrey Rosen, former acting attorney general; Richard Donoghue, former acting deputy attorney general; and Steven Engel, former assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel are set to appear before the committee.
NEXT HEARING: Thursday, June 23rd at 3:00pm ET
Witnesses:
• Jeffrey A. Rosen, Former Acting Attorney General
• Richard Donoghue, Former Acting Deputy Attorney General
• Steven Engel, Former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 22, 2022
Committee to look at pressure on Department of Justice
Thursday’s hearing will focus on Trump’s efforts to “corrupt” the Department of Justice in his attempt “to cling to power”, panel chair Bennie Thompson said earlier this week.
He added that Trump was the “driving force” behind that campaign.
Previous hearings have looked at Trump’s efforts to pressure local and state officials to overturn the vote and the panel’s argument that the former president knew his voter fraud allegations were false.
Today @January6thCmte will expose how Donald Trump tried to weaponize the Department of Justice in his desperate bid to retain power. Watch at 3pm ET as witnesses, including the former Acting Attorney General, reveal how Trump nearly made the Big Lie DOJ policy.
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) June 23, 2022
Republican House leader defends pulling members from panel
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has defended his decision to pull Republican picks from the January 6 panel last year after Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his nominees for the panel who are staunch Trump allies.
“I do not regret not appointing anybody at all. How can you have an honest investigation if the speaker can appoint and pick and choose who can be on?” McCarthy said, calling the committee “political”.
Two Republicans – Liz Cheney, who serves as vice chair of the panel, and Adam Kinzinger – remain on the committee, but they have been all but ostracised by their party.
Key takeaways from last hearing
In the last hearing, the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol featured emotional testimonies from witnesses who highlighted former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections.
Trump – once again – was the main focus of the session on Tuesday, which examined his push to pressure local and state officials to reject the election results.
Read the key takeaways from that hearing here.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s live coverage of a United States congressional committee’s public hearing on its inquiry into the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot.
