Updated 3:35 p.m. EST — At the close of Thursday's Jan. 6 committee's hearing, the committee dropped a bombshell by moving to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify.
The motion to subpoena Trump came from committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and the motion was approved unanimously.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) shared that after more than 1,000 interviews and depositions, "Trump is the one person at the center of the story."
Because of this, he said they need to hear from Trump and have "accountability to the American people" for his actions.
"He is required to answer for his actions," Thompson said while noting they are aware of the seriousness of the action.
For some time, there has been debate over whether or not Trump should be allowed -- or forced -- to testify before the committee about his actions on Jan 6. But now the debate is over.
There has not been a time scheduled for Trump to testify, and it is unknown if the former president will abide by the subpoena or try to fight it.
Updated 2:15 p.m. EST — According to a report from NBC News, the Jan. 6 committee is planning on voting to subpoena former President Trump during today's hearing.
The vote would answer months of speculation about whether or not the committee would subpoena Trump.
Updated 1:55 p.m. EST — The committee showed clips from several staffers, including General Mark Milley, all of who said that Trump had acknowledged he lost the election privately multiple times, despite his public claims he was staying.
Among the statements Trump made included "that's the next guy's problem," which he said to General Milley in December, referring to Biden.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger shared a newly obtained text message between Secret Service members after Trump's last challenge in court was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Just FYI, PUTS is pissed. Breaking news, Supreme Court denied his lawsuit. He is livid now...," the text said.
Updated 1:40 p.m. EST — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack opened its first hearing since last summer with clips of depositions from former Trump staffers, supporters, and notable Republicans.
Among those shown were clips from Jared Kushner's deposition, where he said that some in Trump's camp had urged him to support mail-in-voting, but the former president would not.
Audio was played from Steve Bannon — who has refused to testify before the committee — in which he is saying that Trump was going to declare himself a winner, whether the votes showed him as the winner or not.
In the audio, Bannon was heard saying, "if trump is losing as late as 11 o'clock on election night," things will get crazy. In another clip, he could be heard saying, "all hell is going to break loose" about the same topic. Finally, another clip heard him saying, "Trump is going to do some crazy sh–."
The committee said that the clips proved "President Trump had a premeditated plan" to say the election was stolen "without any evidence in hand."
Documentary footage from Roger Stone, who invoked the fifth amendment during his testimony before the committee, also said that Trump was going to claim victory even if he had not, saying, "Possession is nine-tenths of the law."
Stone, an ally of former President Donald Trump, didn't stop there, however, as he made his statements in front of a Danish documentary crew. Before the hearing, the footage was obtained by CNN.
"F— the voting, let's get right to the violence," Stone can be heard saying. "Shoot to kill. See an Antifa? Shoot to kill. F— 'em. Done with this bulls—."
Updated 11:00 EST — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to return with its first hearing on Thursday since this summer.
The hearing, slotted for 1 p.m. EST, will be the last held by the committee before the midterm elections as the bipartisan group looks to shine a light on former President Donald Trump's actions.
The committee is not expected to have any new witnesses on Thursday, but it is expected to present never before seen evidence.
According to a report from CNN, the plan is to lay out a case depicting Trump as a "clear and present danger" over his actions after the 2020 election when he attempted to overturn the results.
Committee aides shared on Wednesday that Trump's "state of mind" and the events leading up to and following the Capitol riots will be front and center in the presentation. The aides added that it will "bring a particular focus on the former President's state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded."
Ginni Thomas, a Trump supporter, and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, recently testified before the court about her involvement in the attempt to stop the election.
Trump held a rally last month shortly after she was questioned, and during his speech, he praised her for standing by the stolen election claims.
"Do you know Ginni Thomas?" Trump asked his supporters in the crowd. "She didn't say, 'Oh, well, I'd like not to get involved. Of course, it was a wonderful election.' It was a rigged and stolen election. She didn't wait and sit around and say, 'Well, let me give you maybe a different answer than [what] I've been saying for the last two years.'"
It is not known if Thomas' interview will be a part of the evidence presented during the hearing.
The hearing comes two months after the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate to recover potentially classified documents. Trump is currently fighting to determine whether or not they were classified via a request for a special master. He is also fighting a lawsuit the New York City Attorney General filed against his business dealings.
The committee will wrap up its work sometime before the 117th Congress ends on Jan. 3, 2023. However, aides have said that this should not be expected as the last word from the group.
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