18 Key Moments from the Eighth January 6 Hearing

07.21.2022

On Tuesday, July 21, the nonpartisan January 6 Committee held its eighth public hearing in primetime and on all major news networks, except Fox News.

What Happened: The Committee presented evidence showing how Donald Trump refused to prevent or stop the violent mob from attacking the U.S. Capitol for more than three hours. He objected to the desperate pleas from his own family and staff to call off the mob.

Two former Trump White House staffers testified before the committee to shed light on Trump’s inaction for more than three hours as his supporters violently sought to undue a democratic election.

The witnesses:

• Matthew Pottinger, Former Deputy National Security Advisor to the President

• Sarah Matthews, Former Deputy Press Secretary and Special Assistant to the President

Here are the biggest pieces of news we learned broken down by tweet for a quick and easy read:

1) Donald Trump learned the U.S. Capitol had been breached within 15 minutes of the attack. He chose to watch television.

2) After the violent mob led a deadly attack at the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump never placed a call to any law enforcement officials.

3) Trump’s only calls were to U.S. Senators, asking them to refuse to count the American people’s votes to elect Joe Biden President.

4) During the violent attack, Donald Trump’s family members and staff pleaded with him to issue a statement calling off the mob. Donald Trump refused.

5) During the attack, Vice President Pence’s security team feared for their lives and made phone calls to their family to say a final goodbye.

6) Meanwhile, President Trump took to Twitter to call Vice President Pence a “coward,” placing additional pressure on Pence and further inciting the mob.

https://twitter.com/jenmercieca/status/1550285764885237760/photo/1

7) Two minutes later, Vice President Pence had to be evacuated a second time.

8) White House staff pleaded with Donald Trump to ask his supporters for peace. He resisted until his daughter, Ivanka Trump, suggested saying “stay peaceful.”

9) Donald Trump Jr. and Republican members of Congress urged Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff to get Trump to tell the MAGA mob to leave the U.S. Capitol. Trump still did not act.

10) Donald Trump’s staff prepared a speech for him to record to his supporters telling them to go home peacefully. He refused and instead lied about voter fraud.

11) After more than three hours of a bloody attack at the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump finally recorded an unscripted video message to his supporters saying “I know how you feel.”

12) At the end of the day, Donald Trump remained upset that Mike Pence would not go along with his illegal scheme to overturn the results of the lawful 2020 election.

13) Undeterred by the bloody attack that day, Rudy Giuliani made phone calls to members of Congress, pressuring them to refuse to certify the 2020 election.

14) And Donald Trump publicly endorsed political violence as means to declare victory in an election in the United States.

15) One day after the attack, Donald Trump did not want to record a message to the American people that said “the election is over.”

16) The committee showed outtakes from Trump’s recording.

17) By attempting to block the peaceful transfer of power, Donald Trump put our national security at risk.

18) The nonpartisan Committee reminded us Donald Trump has never taken responsibility for the bloody attack or the loss of life on January 6.

View the hearing online.

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Visit the nonpartisan January 6 Committee’s website.