Jan. 6 Committee Holds First Prime-Time Public Hearing

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack held its first prime-time public hearing, presenting evidence that Donald Trump and his allies knew their election fraud claims were false and deliberately spread them anyway. Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson opened the hearing before an audience of tens of millions of viewers. Former AG William Barr testified on video that he told Trump personally in late November 2021 that the election fraud claims had "no basis" and were "bulls**t." Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards testified about the violence she witnessed. The committee characterized the 187 minutes Trump spent watching TV instead of calling off the attack as a "dereliction of duty."