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Select Committee Zeroes In On Who Ultimately Organized Jan 6th Capitol Riot

BY July 29, 2021

The members of the Select Committee are confident they’ll be able to question former Donald Trump aides in their investigation of the January 6th insurrection, but they still have work ahead of them to secure testimony from some of the biggest names. The bipartisan panel is especially interested in what happened in the days and weeks before the insurrection, with a particular focus on the planning and financing of the assault.

While the committee has yet to formally define the scope of their investigation, the Department of Justice has offered a legal opinion allowing Congress to seek witness statements from former Trump administration officials,  and they’re focused on coordination efforts by extremist groups that led the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

UNITED STATES – JULY 1: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to introduce members of the select committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the Capitol on Thursday, July 1, 2021. From left are, Reps. Elaine Luria, D-Va., Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Pelosi, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., will also be a member. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Panel members want to hear from witnesses who can describe “local, state and federal interaction in the run-up to and on the day of January 6th,” according to Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and testimony from individuals who can describe the political influence on the Pentagon and intelligence agencies.

Other congressional committees, including the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, are also investigating aspects of the insurrection, including Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure the Justice Department to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud and potentially overturn his election loss.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who chairs the Oversight Committee, released letters to former top Justice Department officials, including Trump’s last acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen. She also wants to hear from two former U.S. attorneys based in Atlanta who may be able to shed light on the ex-president’s pressure campaign on Georgia officials to “find” enough votes to overturn his election.

“We want to know who was the ultimate organizer and who paid for all of this action and how did it come about and are they still out there,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).



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