Jan 6 live news: Panel to probe Trump link to far-right agitators | Donald Trump News
- Jason Van Tatenhove, a spokesman for the far-right militia, the Oath Keepers, is expected to testify at Tuesday’s hearing.
- The seventh hearing is set to examine alleged links between Trump and far-right agitators accused of plotting the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
- Roger Stone, a Trump confidant and right-wing political operative who was associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, denies any wrongdoing.
- Committee member says former White House counsel Pat Cipollone did not contradict previous witnesses when he was interviewed by the panel last week.
Oath Keepers spokesman to testify: Reports
Jason Van Tatenhove, a spokesman for the far-right militia, the Oath Keepers, will testify at Tuesday’s hearing, several US media outlets have reported, citing unidentified sources.
Early this year, the Department of Justice charged the Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes with seditious conspiracy in relation to his alleged role in the Capitol attack.
Rhodes has pleaded not guilty.
Who are the Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys – a self-described pro-Western, chauvinist “fraternity” – are expected to be the main focus of Tuesday’s hearing.
Read about the far-right group here.
Roger Stone denies any wrongdoing
Roger Stone, a Trump confidant and right-wing political operative who was associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, has denied any wrongdoing.
Stone’s name is expected to come up at the hearing as a link between the White House and the far-right groups.
“Any assertion that I knew in advance about, was involved in or condoned any of the illegal actions at the Capitol is false,” the Reuters news agency quoted Stones as saying in an email. “Any claim that I knew from any member of the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers about any plan for illegal activities on January 6th is also false.”
Cipollone’s testimony to be featured
The panel will feature parts of Cipollone’s interview at Tuesday’s hearing, Congressman Jamie Raskin, a key member of the committee, has said.
The ex-White House counsel was close to the centre of the events of the White House, and according to previous witnesses, he played a major role in opposing Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections.
“We’re going to get to use a lot of Mr Cipollone’s testimony to corroborate other things we’ve learned along the way,” Raskin told CBS News on Sunday. “He was the White House Counsel at the time. He was aware of every major move, I think, that Donald Trump was making to try to overthrow the 2020 election and essentially seize the presidency.”
The Select Committee’s next hearing will continue the story of Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.@RepRaskin previews Tuesday’s hearing: pic.twitter.com/9OZ5u9JDn1
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) July 10, 2022
Committee to examine links between Trump and far-right agitators
The seventh hearing of the panel this year will examine alleged links between Trump and far-right agitators accused of plotting the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The session is expected to draw a connection between the former president and groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
“We will lay out the body of evidence that we have that talks about how the president’s tweet on the wee hours of December 19th of ‘Be there, [will] be wild,’ was a siren call to these folks,” Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, a panel member, told NBC News at the weekend.
Cipollone did not contradict other witnesses, says panel member
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has said that former White House counsel Pat Cipollone did not contradict previous witnesses when he was interviewed by the panel last week.
“Mr Cipollone did appear voluntarily and answer a whole variety of questions. He did not contradict the testimony of other witnesses,” Lofgren told CNN.
Cipollone agreed to speak to the panel after Hutchinson’s explosive testimony.
Key takeaways from last hearing
At the last hearing, on June 28, Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, shared “firsthand” stories of former President Donald Trump’s behaviour on and around January 6, 2021.
Her headline-making testimony included accounts of Trump insisting on going to the Capitol on the day of the riots and physically lunging at a Secret Service agent.
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.
