The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot is back on time with a hearing Thursday afternoon that will examine the three-plus hours that Donald Trump failed to act as a mob of supporters stormed the Capitol. The commission is scrambling to gather fresh evidence, and the meeting could be the latest in a series of public hearings that began in early June. A lawyer for former Trump general Steve Bannon, who is facing criminal charges after months of defying congressional subpoenas, told the committee over the weekend that Mr. Bannon may now be willing to testify, according to committee members. “I expect we will hear from him and there are a lot of questions we have about him,” spokeswoman Zoe Lofgren said. She and other committee members have said they plan to have Mr. Bannon sit down for a private interview, which is usually done in a sworn deposition. Thursday’s audition will be the first in the prime-time slot since its June 9 debut, which was watched by 20 million people. A hearing on Tuesday will focus on the plotting and planning of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by white nationalist groups such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, and will also highlight testimony received Friday from a former adviser to White House of Pat Cipollone. Investigators are digging deeper into the reams of evidence gathered so far about the role extremist groups played in the deadly insurgency and what the former president did as violence ensued on the road from the White House. Representative Adam Kinzinger, who will chair Thursday’s hearing with Representative Elaine Luria, described the upcoming testimony as key to providing a comprehensive timeline of what Mr. Trump did and did not do in those critical hours that afternoon. January 6, 2021. includes Mr Trump’s tweet criticizing Vice President Mike Pence for a lack of “courage”, as angry protesters outside the Capitol were heard chanting “Hang Mike Pence” for not challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory 2020. “We want to show the American people what the president was doing during that time,” Mr Kinzinger said on Sunday. “The rest of the country knew there was a rebellion. The president obviously had to know there was a rebellion. So where was he? What did he do? It is a very important hearing. Pay attention. Because I think it goes to the heart of what a leader’s oath is.” News of the hearing comes as Congress returns to Washington after a two-week recess. Lawmakers on the committee had said in mid-June there would be no more hearings until July, but in late June they held a surprise hearing on former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony. Her explosive testimony provided the most compelling evidence yet that Mr. Trump could be connected to a federal crime. Since then, the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans has seen an influx of new information and insider tips. Tuesday’s hearing will explore efforts to rally the crowd on the National Mall and then organize the march on Pennsylvania Avenue, where some rioters — armed with pipes, bats and bear spray — stormed the Capitol, quickly overwhelming an overwhelmed police force. More than 100 police officers were injured, many beaten, bloodied and bruised, that day. He will also highlight a December 18, 2020, meeting at the White House in which former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, one-time Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, Mr. , over the strong objection of several White House lawyers who argued that Mr. .Trump had to accept defeat, according to spokesman Jamie Raskin, who will lead Tuesday’s hearing. “We will be using a lot of Mr. Cipollone’s testimony,” he said. “He knew every major move, I think, that Donald Trump was making to try to swing the 2020 election and basically take over the presidency.” Lawmakers also plan to consider funding for various rallies and rallies around Washington that were planned that day. Mr. Bannon’s apparent participation in the testimony comes as he faces a criminal trial this month on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a committee subpoena. He has argued that his testimony is protected by Mr. Trump’s claim of executive privilege, a claim that the panel found dubious because Mr. Trump had fired Mr. Bannon from the White House in 2017 and so Mr. Bannon was private when advising Mr. Trump in the run-up to the uprising. Mr. Bannon has expressed a preference for a public hearing, but committee members on Sunday balked. “The way we’ve treated every witness is the same, they come in, they talk to the panel there,” Mr Raskin said. “If they’re going to testify, they’re under oath. It’s videotaped. It’s recorded and then we take it from there.” The committee says it wants to hear from Mr Bannon because he “had specific knowledge of the events planned for January 6 before they took place”. He cited as an example comments he made on his podcast the day before the riot. “It’s not going to happen the way you think it’s going to happen. Okay, it’s going to be extremely different. All I can say is buckle up,” Mr. Bannon said on that podcast. “All hell will break loose tomorrow. … So many people said, “Man, if I was in a revolution, I’d be in Washington.” Well, this is your time in history.” Mr Kinzinger spoke to ABC This weekMs. Lofgren was on CNN state of the unionand Mr. Ruskin appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
