Key Moments from the Seventh January 6 Hearing
On Tuesday, July 12, the nonpartisan January 6 Committee held its seventh public hearing.
The hearing focused on how Donald Trump, desperate to hold onto power by any means necessary, spread lies about the election and summoned a violent mob to Washington, D.C. to stop the peaceful transfer of power. As early as December 2020, he plotted to spur the mob, led by the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, to wage a violent attack on our electoral system on January 6.
Common Cause compiled the key moments:
1. President Trump knew he lost his bid for re-election in a free and fair election. He refused to accept that fact.
“Donald Trump had access to more detailed and specific information showing that the election was not actually stolen than almost any other American, and he was told this over and over again…” – @RepLizCheney in #January6thCommitteeHearings 1/2 pic.twitter.com/HbXe69J8lk
— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) July 12, 2022
2. President Trump made false allegations of fraud in a court of law. He lost 60 out of 61 of his cases, with the courts finding no credible claims of fraud in the 2020 election. He went on to spread the Big Lie anyway.
“Everybody is obligated to abide by the rulings of the courts,” former White House counsel Pat Cippolone testified, after being asked about the courts’ wholesale rejection of Trump’s fraud claims.
— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) July 12, 2022
"The President of the United States cannot simply disregard the rulings of state and federal courts, which are empowered to address specific election-related claims." – @RepStephMurphy in #January6thCommitteeHearings
— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) July 12, 2022
3. President Trump’s own family, staff, and other Republican elected officials accepted Trump’s loss in the 2020 election and told him that he should accept defeat. He did not.
Donald Trump heard in late 2020 from Sen. McConnell, cabinet officials, and White House aides that he had lost, there had not been any fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of the election, and he should concede the election. It was overwhelming, but he chose to ignore it.
— Noah Bookbinder (@NoahBookbinder) July 12, 2022
There wasn't any evidence to back up Trump's election fraud claims.
Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone testified to it.
Rudy Giuliani's legal team's emails reveal it.And yet, that didn't stop Trump from trying to overturn the election. pic.twitter.com/cPoJ9ZeOY3
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) July 12, 2022
4. Days after the 2020 election in a tense White House meeting with shouting and profanity, President Trump’s staff refused to go along with his plan to illegally seize voting machines in the states and appoint Sidney Powell as special counsel to charge people with crimes.
Days after the 2020 election, Trump’s minions met to discuss how they could overturn the election results.
SPOILER: They even discussed physical violence. pic.twitter.com/9bCNlMIoRr
— Stand Up America (@StandUpAmerica) July 12, 2022
Considering having the military seize voting machines is truly chilling. Drafting an executive order, including considering naming Sidney Powell as a special counsel with the power to charge people with crimes, takes it to terrifying new heights. #Jan6thHearings
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) July 12, 2022
5. Following the meeting in which staff stymied his radical plan, Trump took to Twitter to ask his supporters to join him for a “wild” rally in Washington, D.C. on January 6.
Rep. Raskin: "Donald Trump's 1:42 a.m. tweet electrified and galvanized his supporters—especially the dangerous extremists in the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and other racist and white nationalist groups spoiling for a fight against the government." https://t.co/DCb9mn7ZJN pic.twitter.com/7RvA7hvj2O
— ABC News (@ABC) July 12, 2022
Rep. Stephanie Murphy said the committee will lay out how Trump's Dec. 19 tweet was intended to help keep him in power despite his election loss:
"It's clear the president intended the assembled crowd on January 6 to serve his goal." https://t.co/F5ybjaunWL pic.twitter.com/SlhQ7xcQCj
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 12, 2022
6. Trump’s followers, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, responded to his call to join him in Washington, D.C. with support, excitement, and threats of violence.
Trump’s “Be there, will be wild!” call reverberated online across almost every social media platform. Trump’s key supporters, including far-right media personalities, saw it as a call to action. pic.twitter.com/k8Ao8PZJWm
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) July 12, 2022
Trump’s Dec 19 directive spurred sharp turn to violence online pic.twitter.com/8AzE0XQiRj
— Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco) July 12, 2022
"There is going to be a Red Wedding on January 6" – Salty Cracker, a pro-Trump youtuber referring to the scene in Game of Thrones when mutliple main characters are slaughtered
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) July 12, 2022
7. Representative Jamie Raskin reminded every American that political violence is as old our country, and that we ourselves have a choice to either continue or destroy our democracy.
.@RepRaskin: "This is very old problem has returned with new ferocity today as a president who lost an election deployed a mob, which included dangerous extremists to attack the constitutional system of election and the peaceful transfer of power"
— Laura Barrón-López (@lbarronlopez) July 12, 2022
“The problem of politicians whipping up mob violence to destroy fair elections is the oldest domestic enemy of constitutional democracy in America.”
We couldn’t agree more with @RepRaskin. pic.twitter.com/ExMuzuWUrC
— Common Cause (@CommonCause) July 12, 2022
8. Despite knowing the rally may turn violent, Trump did not cancel or try and stop the violence. Instead, Trump continued to promote the rally, more than a dozen times leading up to January 6.
Rep Raskin: "The President continued to boost the event, tweeting about it more than a dozen times in the lead up to January 6th." #January6thCommitteeHearing https://t.co/lgKoSfufho pic.twitter.com/PMzttEFw7r
— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) July 12, 2022
Committee shows draft Trump tweet obtained from Natl Archives:
"I will be making a Big Speech at 10AM on January 6th at the Ellipse… Please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!"
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 12, 2022
9. Following a phone call with Donald Trump, Steve Bannon announced publicly that “all hell is going to break loose” on January 6.
Steve Bannon said “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow” after speaking by phone with then President Trump on Jan. 5th, says Rep. Stephanie Murphy.
— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) July 12, 2022
10. Stephen Ayers, someone at the riot, said he and the other members of the violent mob on January 6 came to Washington D.C. because Donald Trump invited them. Trump tweeted that he “loved” them.
Stephen Ayers said he participated in the insurrection because "I was pretty hardcore into social media… Trump said to come to the Stop the Steal rally and I felt like I needed to be down here."#Jan6thCommitteeHearings
— Common Cause (@CommonCause) July 12, 2022
"I want them to know that 1776 is always an option," said a speaker at the Freedom Plaza rally on Jan 5th, who then threatened to "shut this country down."
Trump tweeted, "we hear you and love you from the oval office." #January6thCommittee
— Common Cause (@CommonCause) July 12, 2022
11. Representative Liz Cheney said that Trump has personally tried to call a witness and tamper with their testimony to the nonpartisan January 6 Committee.
.@RepLizCheney: "President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings. That person declined to answer…instead alerted their lawyer…this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice." pic.twitter.com/KqPg1DBNb9
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 12, 2022
12. Representative Liz Cheney underscored why Donald Trump must be held accountable for spurring a violent attack on our country.
“Donald Trump is a 76 year old man. He is not an impressionable child. He cannot escape responsibility by being willfully blind,” said @RepLizCheney.
Tune into the #Jan6 hearing LIVE now: https://t.co/y4Bs8M4zxe pic.twitter.com/1MdrHHW6E1
— Common Cause (@CommonCause) July 12, 2022
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To visit the nonpartisan January 6 Committee’s website, click here.