Jan 6 Committee to Hold Eight Public Hearings in June

The House select committee looking into the Jan. 6 riot plans to hold eight public hearings in June, signaling its investigation is nearing its conclusion.

Committee members are still finalizing the details about which witnesses, which could include high-profile people such as former Vice President Mike Pence, will make the public appearances, which are intended to draw renewed public attention toward Trump backers’ attempts to subvert the 2020 election.

“We’ll tell the story about what happened,” Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said, according to CBS. “We will use a combination of witnesses, exhibits, things that we have through the tens of thousands of exhibits we’ve … looked at, as well as the hundreds of witnesses we deposed or just talked to in general.”

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So far, most of the committee’s depositions have been conducted behind closed doors. The committee held one public hearing in July 2021 featuring police officers who were on the scene during the riot. For months, Thompson has indicated that the committee plans to hold public hearings but kept pushing back the starting point.

Now, the Jan. 6 committee plans to wrap up depositions in May, indicating it is nearing the end of its work because its plan had been to conduct sweeping depositions in private, then hold public hearings, and finally release a report on its findings.

In early fall, the committee will release its full report on the Jan. 6 riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, marking a change from previous indications it would release an interim report on its findings in June, Thompson said earlier this week.

Most topics of inquiry get one or two public hearings from Congress, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is a member of the committee, told CBS News, highlighting the unique nature of the committee’s work.

With Republicans expected to regain the House in November, the committee is likely scrambling to finish its work before the new Congress is sworn into office, given that a GOP-controlled House would likely disband the committee.

The lawmakers plan to reach out to some members of Congress, Thompson said, according to CNN. Committee members will send out letters to the members in question, likely including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Jim Jordan and Scott Perry, and make those letters available to the press. Those three Republican members have indicated they would not make an appearance.

Close associates of Pence, along with Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and others have reportedly appeared before the committee in private, all of whom may be called again for the public hearings as the committee reportedly strives for “blockbuster” TV hearings.

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Throughout the course of the investigation, the committee has conducted over 935 depositions and interviews and amassed roughly 104,000 documents. The committee has also reportedly been privately mulling whether it will send criminal referrals to the Justice Department.

The first public hearing is expected to take place on June 9.