That House select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will hold its latest hearing on Tuesday with plans to present evidence that former President Donald Trump attempted to pressure state officials into reversing the 2020 election.
Updated 1:20 p.m. EST — Tuesday’s hearing was headlined by three GOP politicians, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his deputy Gabe Sterling, and Arizona state House Speaker Russell Bowers, who all faced pressure from Trump to turn the election in his favor.
Congressman and committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) gave the hearings opening remarks, saying that “our democracy endured a mighty test on Jan. 6 and the days before.”
Thompson explained that the actions taken by Trump are still having repercussions today, calling out a New Mexico primary that was stopped from being ratified due to claims of Dominion voting machines being fraudulent with no proof.
The committee’s vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), shared in her opening remarks clips from Sterling speaking about his boss and other workers in the state of Georgia who received death threats when they did not overturn the election.
Cheney also called on those watching to focus on the evidence presented during the hearing and not be divided by politics.
Updated 12:40 p.m. EST — The committee will focus on showing how the former president worked to turn the election in his favor, which included a scheme of offering fake slates of electors in seven battleground states which were won by Joe Biden.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST, and the committee will hear from state and local officials who resisted pressure from Trump and his team.
This includes Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), Raffensperger’s deputy Gabe Sterling, Georgia election worker Shaye Moss, and Arizona state House Speaker Russell Bowers (R).
Last week, the committee’s third hearing touched on the pressure that Trump put on his former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. Trump had claimed Pence had the power to do so because of a theory that law professor John Eastman proposed.
During the hearing, former counsel to Pence, Greg Jacob, spoke and shared his interactions with Eastman, who he said had admitted the theory would not have held up if challenged in court.
Almost a year and a half after the events of Jan. 6, the House select committee continues to break down what led to Trump supporters storming the Capitol.
