More than 17 months after a pro-Trump mob attacked the US Capitol to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory, a committee is set to hold its first public hearing this week.
On June 9 at 8 p.m. ET, a broad overview of the panel’s 10-month investigation will set the stage for subsequent hearings. During the six hearings, the House Select Committee investigating the attack plans to provide the most comprehensive accounting of that day and the weeks leading up to it. They will detail the orchestrated conspiracy behind the worst attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812.
“To my mind, it is absolutely riveting,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, told TIME of the plans for the hearings. “Because it is a story of the greatest political crime ever attempted by an American president against his own government.”
Also Read | Capitol riots fallout: Proud Boys face seditious conspiracy charges
The assault on Jan. 6, 2021, left several people dead, including four police officers who killed themselves after the attack. Several other law enforcement officers were injured.
Members of Congress from both parties have said they feared for their lives. The event led the House to impeach Trump for a second time during his last days in office. However, the Senate later acquitted him.
So what to expect from the hearings?
“The committee will present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a 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,” the panel said.
It is believed that the hearings could be focused on former President Donald Trump’s direct role in undermining the election results.
Ahead of the hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney said that the attack was part of an “extremely well-organized” conspiracy.
Also Read | Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro subpoenaed in Jan 6 probe
“It is extremely broad. It’s extremely well organized. It’s really chilling,” Cheney told CBS “Sunday Morning,” adding: “I have not learned anything that has made me less concerned.”
Democratic Rep. David Cicilline told CNN Saturday that “disturbing” new evidence would be presented at the upcoming hearings.
“There will be, I think, substantial evidence that really demonstrates the coordination and the planning and the effort, despite the fact that they understood that Donald Trump lost the election and even once the insurrection began and the violence began, there were ongoing efforts to persuade the former President to stop the violence and call on folks to go home, and he refused to do it,” Cicilline told CNN.
Cicilline added: “I think the American people are going to learn facts about the planning and execution of this that will be very disturbing.”
While the committee hasn’t released a full witness list, two people directly tied to former Vice President Mike Pence are expected to testify, including advisers Greg Jacob, J. Michael Luttig, and Marc Short.