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July 27th, 2021 
Awake Goy Trump supporters descend on the Capitol, 6 January 2021
(AP)
After months of buildup, today sees the first public hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol. The bipartisan panel will be hearing from four law enforcement officers – two from the US Capitol Police and two from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, all of whom will be testifying “in their personal capacities” about “the law enforcement experience” that day.
The panel is going ahead with its work despite the refusal of Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to nominate a slate of representatives for his party’s allotted seats after Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his initial nominees, hardliners Jim Banks and Jim Jordan. At a press conference this morning, Mr McCarthy and other Republicans have dismissed the committee as a “sham” and complained that Ms Pelosi is using it to push a narrative of her own.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, has called on the committee to subpoena several members of Donald Trump’s inner circle: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner; and “other White House aides with useful information”.
Thompson condemns “vile, vile lie” that led to insurrection
The harrowing screening concluded, Chairman Thompson is praising his fellow members as people of “courage and character” – and drawing the lines of the committee’s inquiry, insisting that it is crucial to understand how the “big lie” of the imagined theft of the election led to the events of the riot.
“The whole world saw the reality of what happened on 6 January,” he says. “And all of it for a vile, vile lie.”
Liz Cheney is up next.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:48
Session begins with graphic video of attacks on police
The committee is being shown a compilation of video footage and communications audio from the start of the riot, at the point where insurrectionists overwhelmed officers and smashed the building’s doors in.
“This is now effectively a riot,” one officer can be heard shouting to a dispatcher.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:42
Bennie Thompson: “the rioters came dangerously close to succeeding”
In his opening statement, Bennie Thompson insisted the committee’s work will be apolitical, and warned that efforts to subvert American democracy are still underway. He also praised the assembled witnesses for “holding the line”, and told them “history will remember your names, and your actions”.
“The peaceful transfer of power did not happen,” he told the committee room. “Let that sink in.”
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:39
The hearing begins
Bennie Thompson has gavelled the select committee’s first hearing to order and begun his opening statement.
Follow the proceedings on C-Span here.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:33
Report: Trump officials can testify to Congress
According to the New York Times, the Justice Department has notified former Trump administration staff that they can give “unrestricted” testimony to various committees investigating the 6 January attack. The decision goes against the preferences of the former president, who claims his decisions are covered by executive privilege.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:20
Reminder: why Nancy Pelosi rejected Jim Jordan (partly)
Jim Jordan’s Democratic opponent in the 2022 midterms has taken to Twitter to point out one of the reasons why Nancy Pelosi did not want the rabble-rousing Republican sitting on the select committee: because he himself might be a subject of the investigation.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 14:14
Jim Jordan goes off-base
Former Department of Defence counsel and Just Security co-editor Ryan Goodman has hit on a problem with Congressman Jim Jordan’s turn at Kevin McCarthy’s press conference – or rather, a problem with a source he cited.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 13:56
McCarthy doubles down on partisanship claims
Asked by The Independent’s own Eric Garcia whether pulling the three of his nominees the speaker accepted didn’t also rob millions of Americans of a “voice” in the investigation, Mr McCarthy once again pivoted to Ms Pelosi’s supposedly unprecedented level of control over the committee’s line of inquiry.
“What we’re objecting to is that we’re not gonna find the solutions,” he said – and the press conference is over.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 13:40
Republican Congressman: Kinzinger and Cheney are “Pelosi Republicans”
Troy Nehls, who was also nominated to the committee by Kevin McCarthy, has described Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney as “Pelosi Republicans” who are on the committee to pursue “personal vendettas”.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 13:31
Congressman Rodney Davis complains he cannot question witnesses today
Rodney Davis has described as “a friend” officer Harry Dunn, who has described how protesters at the Capitol called him the N-word during the insurrection, and is saying he regrets that he cannot ask for his testimony today. But Mr Davis is one of the Republicans whose nominations Ms Pelosi accepted; it was Mr McCarthy who withdrew his nomination.
Andrew Naughtie27 July 2021 13:24
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