The January 6th Hearings
- Paula Rodriguez-Saenz
- Jul 28, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 28, 2022
During the process of affirming (now) President Joe Biden to office in 2020, the United States Capitol was attacked by several pro-Trump groups who hoped to prevent the succession of power. This incident stopped a joint session of Congress that was counting the electoral votes that would formally name Joe Biden the newly elected president. Two years later, the government is currently investigating this event that led to multiple deaths, several injured citizens, “more than 725 arrests [and] approximately $1.5 million worth of damages to the U.S. Capitol building” (Justive.gov). Believed to be a 7-part plan created by former President Donald Trump, these January 6th Hearings are meant to investigate the Capitol Hill insurrection and provide a clearer picture of how these individuals were able to breach the building so easily and how it can be prevented in the future.
January 6 Committee
An Ad-Hoc Committee was created to begin this investigation in the House of Representatives. In the beginning stages of forming the committee, the idea became partisan with many Republicans believing that Democratic lawmakers would use this as an opportunity to focus on former President Trump. Republicans wanted the investigation to focus on the violence and damages instead. However, earlier this year, “a bipartisan agreement was hammered out in May by the leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee to create an independent commission that was modeled on the panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks” (Washington Post). However, this was rejected by most House republicans and then blocked by Senate republicans causing House Democrats to create a “special investigative committee”.
The committee is made up of seven Democrats in the majority – Zoe Lofgren, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy, James Raskin, Elaine Luria, Bennie Thompson – and two Republicans in the minority – Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger. Bennie Thompson would serve as the committee chair according to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House. The about section of the committee website describes several reasons for the creation of this committee as well as outlines the procedures used throughout this process.
The committee has focused on interviewing, announcing subpoenas, obtaining records, and receiving telephone tips through a specific January 6 tip line. This great amount of information has been delegated through five different teams that work on specific sections of the investigation. One team works to investigate false information that is spread online and extremist activity. A second team focuses on “examining the funding for demonstrations against the election results” (The Washington Post). A third team uses their time and resources to understand how the federal and local law enforcement prepared and responded to the incident. A fourth team looks at the “pressure campaigns in Washington and in state capitols to overturn election results or delay certification of electors”. Lastly, this fifth team investigates the organizers of the events.
There have currently been eight Committee Hearings, the first one beginning June 9th, 2022. The first Committee hearing main intention was to “present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, and provide the American people an initial summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election and prevent the transfer of power” (January 6th Committee). One reason for this committee is to use its findings to inform new legislation. In October 2021, committee members begin collaborating to draft a bill that would prevent the events of January 6th to happen again as well as clarify the procedures for presidential elections.
The Investigation and Information Regarding the Transfer of Power
Throughout the course of these past two months, there has been a consistent theme that indicates that former President Trump ignored advice given to him that the election had not been stolen. The Department of Justice (DOJ) officials testified against several meetings that took place before the event that showed the efforts by former president trump to get the DOJ involved to overturn the election. However, the DOJ argued that it had no basis in law.
Several more testimonies have been made by different people involved and affected by the idea of the presidential election being stolen. There are many questions regarding these hearings that many people want to be answered. Anthony Zurcher, author of the article “Five Big Questions about Trump and the Riot”, shows a few of the most pressing questions:
How involved was the White House in organizing the January 6 rallies?
Did anyone in the government or Trump’s circle have reason to believe the day would turn violent?
How did the president respond when the Capitol was attacked?
Why was the military/security response to the attack delayed?
How seriously did the president and White House consider taking extraordinary measures to invalidate the election?
All these questions can be answered through this investigation that is currently going on and hopefully clarifies what exactly happened on the days leading up to the January 6th attacks.
While the investigation is still ongoing and it is unsure what will happen with this new information found by the committee, it is safe to say that these hearings have and will have a huge impact on the procedures of the different governmental institutions as well as how future presidential elections are handled. As the committee and lawmakers continue to work on different plans to prevent the events of January 6th to happen, it is important to note that emergency management will become a huge part of mitigation and preparedness for any potential riots in the future, especially regarding government sites like Capitol Hill.
How Can You Help?
If the events of January 6th interest you and you would like to learn more about the hearings, one way that you can do that is by viewing each hearing, past, and future. On the January 6th Committee website, they have uploaded all past hearings and they have a place where you can get updated on future hearings as well as a tip line. Remember to always read before believing stuff on the internet and go to reputable websites to learn more about different political events happening locally and globally.
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