The House committee’s investigation into the January 6 “attack” on the Capitol, which has been referred to as a “sham political witch-hunt that is so scripted they need teleprompters,” abruptly announced it is postponing its hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. ET Wednesday.
Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., announced that due to “technical issues” stemming from “overwhelming” demand on staff to produce videos, Wednesday’s hearing is rescheduled for Thursday evening, according to NBC News.
Lofgren added: “We’re trying to give them a little room.”
The Western Journal reports that Wednesday’s hearing was to focus on then-President Donald Trump’s unsuccessful plan to replace acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark,” ostensibly because Clark was more supportive of Trump’s claims of election fraud.
Rosen, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, and Steve Engel, former assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, were scheduled to testify before the committee on Wednesday.
Rep Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., promised that “In our hearings, you will hear first-hand how the senior leadership of the department threatened to resign, how the White House Counsel threatened to resign, and how they confronted Donald Trump and Jeff Clark in the Oval Office.”
Cheney added that on Thursday, the committee will focus on Trump’s efforts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the electoral votes on January 6.
Referring to a statement made by Pence’s former attorney Greg Jacob, Cheney said that what Trump demanded of Pence “wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal and unconstitutional.”
NBC News notes that J. Michael Luttig, a former conservative judge who advised Pence, will also testify on Thursday.
NBC also reports that former Attorney General William Barr will not testify at upcoming hearings, though the committee viewed his video deposition on Monday.
The committee’s schedule change announcement comes a day after the second hearing’s schedule was abruptly changed. Monday’s hearing was delayed more than 30 minutes after Bill Stepien, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, announced he needed to rush to the hospital because his wife had gone into labor.
Dates for future hearings in June have not been scheduled. Those hearings are expected to focus on Trump’s plan to pressure state legislators and election officials to change election results and how Trump summoned a violent mob and directed them to “illegally” march on the U.S. Capitol.
NPR reports that the committee is looking into connections between former President Donald Trump’s voter fraud claims and the incursion at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Right now, the committee is focused on presenting our findings to the American people in our hearings and in our report,” a committee spokesman said. “Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to gather all relevant information as we present facts, offer recommendations and, if warranted, make criminal referrals.”
The final hearing is expected to feature a moment-by-moment account of the hours-long attack from more than a half dozen White House staff members.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
