New hearings loom in Capitol attack probe

Heated exchange

Trump's former deputy White House chief of staff Tony Ornato, who works for the Secret Service, Trump's former Secret Service lead agent Robert Engel, and the driver of Trump's vehicle on Jan 6 have all retained private counsel to engage with the committee. The three were said to have been involved in a heated exchange with Trump when he was told he could not go to the Capitol after his rally at the Ellipse, near the White House, on Jan 6.

The panel also is expected to delve into how Secret Service text messages from Jan 5 and Jan 6 were deleted after congressional committees instructed the agency to retain all records that might be relevant to the attack. The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has launched a criminal investigation into the destruction of those communications.

The committee has yet to publicly examine how the nation's security forces failed to anticipate a coordinated strike on the Capitol. The resolution passed by the House creating the select committee to investigate the riot specifically tasked the panel with answering that question and making recommendations to prevent such violence in the future.

The Jan 6 attack was the worst on the Capitol since British soldiers burned it in 1814. The Jan 6 attack came from within the country, not from outside. Five people died. Lawmakers were rushed to safety as the certification of a presidential election gave way to violent insurrection. Gallows were erected for vice-president Mike Pence.

Roughly 330 defendants accused of storming the Capitol still await trial on felony charges. About 70 people have pleaded guilty and nine have been convicted at trial. A former police officer from Virginia who stormed the Capitol was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Aug 11, equaling another Jan 6 defendant for the longest sentence to date.

Cheney opened the final summer hearing by noting the progress the committee has made, but she added that there is now new evidence and more witnesses to consider.

Committee Chairman Thompson told reporters recently, "We're just getting a significant amount of information", adding the new evidence "pushes the timetable out".

He said the committee could issue an initial report next month, followed by a final report later this year. The findings would be accompanied by hearings, he said.

The most sensational testimony of the hearings to date came from Cassidy Hutchinson during the panel's sixth session. The 26-year-old was an aide to Meadows, Trump's final chief of staff.

She told the panel on June 28 that Trump knew the crowd was armed, but he wanted to loosen security. "They're not here to hurt me," she testified that Trump said as he demanded that security checkpoints be removed outside his rally on the Ellipse on Jan 6.

Cassidy also described Meadows as being disengaged and unwilling to act as rioters moved toward the Capitol.

"Are you watching the TV, chief?" Hutchinson recalled asking Meadows. "The rioters are getting really close. Have you talked to the president?" "No," she said he responded, Trump "wants to be alone right now."

Another aide to Meadows, Ben Williamson, said in testimony to the House committee that "any suggestion he didn't care is ludicrous".

Hutchinson also recalled being told of an irate Trump trying to grab the wheel of his vehicle from a Secret Service agent when he was told he couldn't go to the Capitol to join his supporters. Trump quickly denied it and the Secret Service officials said it would be rebutted in forthcoming testimony.