WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional committee plans to reveal new evidence about the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 by supporters of Donald Trump at a public hearing on Tuesday that it hastily announced just 24 hours before.
The House committee, which is investigating the first attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in US history, declined to answer questions about who might testify or what evidence would be presented.
The meeting, announced Monday, is scheduled for 1 pm ET (1700 GMT) on Tuesday.
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Testimony at five previous hearings has shown how then-President Trump, a Republican, angered thousands of supporters with false claims that he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden due to massive voter fraud.
British filmmaker Alex Holder, who spent time filming Trump and his family in the weeks after the election, testified in recent days before the committee behind closed doors and shared videos of his interviews with Trump and his family, according to media reports. media.
The committee has said it intends to interview Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, following reports that she may have been involved in efforts to stop the certification of Biden’s victory. at the Capitol on January 6.
Ginni Thomas said that she intended to speak to the panel.
US police last week raided the home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who was an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s false fraud claims.
This month’s hearings included videotaped testimony from figures including Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and his former attorney general, Bill Barr. They and other witnesses testified that they did not believe Trump’s false claims about widespread fraud and tried to talk him out of them.
Dozens of courts, state election officials and reviews by the Trump administration itself have rejected his claims of fraud, some of which included outlandish stories about an Italian security company or the late Venezuelan President Hugo Trump’s tampering with US election ballots. Chavez.
Trump, who is publicly flirting with another White House bid in 2024, has denied any wrongdoing and accused the committee of participating in a political witch hunt. He has directed harsh criticism in particular at Rep. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the nine-member committee.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month found that about two-thirds of US Republicans believe Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. read more
The committee is expected to hold one or two hearings sometime next month on the possible coordination of the Jan. 6 attack by far-right groups.
During the storming of the Capitol, thousands of Trump supporters smashed windows, fought with police and sent lawmakers, including Trump Vice President Mike Pence, fleeing for their lives.
Four people died the day of the attack, one fatally from police shooting and the others from natural causes. More than 100 policemen were injured and one died the next day. Four officers later died by suicide.
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Information from Richard Cowan; Edited by Scott Malone and Howard Goller
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