Overview:
The Jan. 6th committee has begun investigating Trump's links to extremists, and whether Trump directed these groups during the insurrection.
The House Jan. 6th committee is holding its latest round of public hearings, with a focus on the links between former President Donald Trump and far-right extremists such as QAnon, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers. The committee highlighted how far-right extremists answered Donald Trump’s call to come to Washington. Members of the committee are investigating whether the Trump White House coordinated with extremists during their attack on the Capitol.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the committee, said that Trump “summoned a mob to Washington, D.C.” in a “last-ditch effort” to overturn the election results and install himself as President for a second term.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, committee vice chair, said that Trump should be held responsible for what happened on January 6th. “President Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child. … He is responsible for his own actions and his own choices.”
Rep. Stephanie Murphy, another committee member, said the panel would examine Trump’s communications with the far-right extremists. “We will lay out the body of evidence that we have that talks about how the president’s tweet on the wee hours of December 19th of ‘Be there, be wild,’ was a siren call to these folks,” Murphy told NBC.
In one of the day’s biggest revelations, it was revealed that Trump’s team had drafted a tweet in which he was going to direct people to march to the Capitol from the riot. The tweet has been saved in the National Archives.
The Justice Department has already brought charges against over 130 people with ties to right wing extremist groups such as QAnon. Several leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers are facing seditious conspiracy charges.