The chairman of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot has opened Thursday's prime-time hearing by saying that congressional investigators have told the story in public sessions over the past weeks of a president — Donald Trump — who did everything he could to stay in power.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi says of Trump: “He lied, he bullied, he betrayed his oath.”
The committee is taking a close examination of Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021 — a day of violence in Washington. The focus of this hearing is on the three-plus hours during the insurrection at the Capitol when Trump failed to act to stop the attack.
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Thompson says that despite the erupting violence that day, Trump “could not be moved.”
The congressman also says the committee continues to hear from witnesses and plans to reconvene in September to continue laying out its story to the public.
Thompson is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 and is attending the hearing by video.
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This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings.
