Jan. 6 panel’s likely final hearing to focus on Trump’s ‘state of mind’
by Rebecca Beitsch and Mike Lillis - 10/12/22 5:44 PM ET
The House committee investigating last year’s attack on the Capitol will assemble Thursday for what could be its final public hearing ahead of the midterms, promising to delve into former President Trump’s state of mind in a presentation designed to tie up a host of loose ends before the panel dissolves at the end of the year.
Through eight hearings in June and July, the committee had aired damning evidence revealing the extent to which Trump and members of his inner circle had sought to leverage the powers of the presidency to keep him in office despite his election defeat — a campaign that crescendoed in the violent rampage at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
But 16 months into the probe, investigators face the daunting task of crunching evidence gleaned from tens of thousands of documents and more than 1,000 witness interviews, packaging it into a concise closing argument and delivering it in the form of a compelling narrative capable of convincing voters that Trump and his supporters pose an ongoing threat to America’s democratic institutions.
For more than two hours on Thursday, they will begin that process.
“We’re going to bring a particular focus on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded,” a committee aide told reporters Wednesday.
“So what you’re going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we’ve already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump’s centrality from the time prior to the election,” the aide said.
Such information could be key for Trump’s legal culpability, as many potential charges relating to the insurrection rely on demonstrating intent. As a separate matter, the committee still has to decide whether it will make criminal referrals based on its findings to the Justice Department, which is conducting its own wide-ranging investigation.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3685474-jan-6-panels-likely-final-hearing-to-focus-on-trumps-state-of-mind/
