After 10 months of work behind closed doors, the House commission charged with investigating the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 – the one that occurred at the end of a meeting by the then outgoing president Donald Trump who did not accept defeat, a few days after the inauguration of his successor Joe Biden – will finally begin to put his cards on the table with a series of public hearings, or live on TV, starting today at 2 pm in the US (8 pm in Italy). And while it is true that a lot has leaked out about the investigations, little has been heard from the hands-on voice of direct witnesses. The hope of the Democrats, who promise to show only unpublished material, is, needless to say, startle the consciences of Americans just as it did half a century ago with the public hearings of Watergate, influencing with the re-enactment of the saddest day in American democracy. Influencing them in the MidTerm vote to be held in November.
United States, Capitol Hill a year later: this is what Biden and Trump will say on January 6
by our correspondent Paolo Mastrolilli
“We will present the evidence that we have gathered through testimonials, documents, audio, video and 3D reconstructions, so that it is as engaging as possible and deeply informative,” said the California Democrat Congressman. Adam Schiffmember of the committee. “At the end of the hearings we will publish the final report. We will thus be able to say that we have best reconstructed that tragic day. It is an important act aimed at ensuring that such attacks on our democracy never happen again”.
One in three Americans think violence against the government can be justified
by Anna Lombardi
Today’s hearing will be particularly summary: an extreme summary of the enormous amount of evidence accumulated by the commission. Despite the scarce collaboration of the higher-profile figures involved (i.e. eminent Republicans), the commission nevertheless collected data provided by hundreds of telephone records, coming into possession of text messages and emails exchanged in those tragic moments between the White House and political figures and the press. He also conducted over a thousand interviews. The intention now is to distill the results into an easy-to-understand narrative.
United States, the “shaman” sentenced to 41 months in prison for the attack on Capitol Hill
The two witnesses of the first hearing are particularly symbolic: there will be the police officer Caroline Edwards, who that day was the first person in uniform to get hurt: overwhelmed by the rioters who violently banged her head on the steps of the Capitol. That blow resulted in a brain injury. Since then she, seriously handicapped, she has not been able to continue her work. “Why did you get in the way?” someone yelled at her as she was on the ground, injured. The other witness will be the director Nick Quested: documentary filmmaker who followed the far-right organization Proud Boys and filmed the preparation of the revolt and the first violent acts.
The live TV auditions have the declared task of being spectacular: the committee has in fact hired a former television director who has programs such as Nightline and 20/20 on his curriculum to better orchestrate the procedure and keep the audience glued to the screen.