UPDATED with latest: The Congressional Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will hold what looks to be its final hearing before the mid-term elections tomorrow, October 13 at 1 p.m. ET. It is expected to last for about two hours.
A tweet from the committee today promised tomorrow’s conclave will be used to “present the key facts we’ve uncovered during our investigation.” The meeting had been scheduled for September 28, but was postponed due to Hurricane Ian.
The Hill characterized the session as a “closing argument” of sorts. A committee aide told the publication, “We’re going to bring a particular focus on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded.”
The aide added, “So what you’re going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we’ve already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump’s centrality from the time prior to the election.”
The session will not be led by any one member or members, but will be a coordinated effort by all nine people on the committee.
PREVIOUSLY on October 6: The January 6th Committee’s next hearing will take place on Oct. 13.
The hearing was postponed from a date last week because of Hurricane Ian in Florida.
The next hearing is expected to be its last before the midterms. Major broadcast and cable networks are expected to carry the next hearing.
PREVIOUSLY on September 27: The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has postponed its hearing planned for September 28 as Hurricane Ian bears down on Florida. The panel said that a new date will be announced soon.
PREVIOUSLY on September 22: The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol tweeted that it will hold its next hearing at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 28.
It will be the panel’s first hearing since the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on August 8.
PREVIOUSLY on September 15: January 6th Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. said this week that the House committee is looking at resuming its hearings on Wednesday, September 28.
“That’s the goal at this point,” he told reporters Monday of the date.
“We’re looking at the process of being able to look at the report … as well as closing the loop on any potential witnesses,” Thompson continued. It would be the first such gathering since the panel concluded its summer sessions on July 25.
WATCH: Jan. 6 Cmte. Chairman Bennie Thompson says the committee’s goal is to hold the next hearing on Sept. 28.
Rep. Thompson: “We’re looking at the process of getting to look at the report … as well as closing the loop on potential witnesses.” pic.twitter.com/Ee0TmeE0V5
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 13, 2022
Per Politico, Thompson also said that the intention is to create an interim report by mid-October and finalize the document before the end of the year.
“We sunset at the end of December,” CBS reported Thompson saying.
The committee is still seeking testimony from conservative activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. While that has been a months-long goal, Thompson said that any appearance by Thomas had to be “delayed” due to “some things that happened.”
The panel is also looking for another tranche of emails from Trump attorney John Eastman, who was key in the ex-president’s attempt to subvert the 2020 election. Eastman has already testified before the committee, repeatedly taking the Fifth.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Vice President Mike Pence and — potentially — Trump himself are among the others on the committee’s list.
PREVIOUSLY on July 25: The Congressional Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol wrapped what Rep. Adam Kinzinger called “this traunche of hearings” with a blockbuster primetime finale on Thursday, July 24 which included never-before-seen outtakes of Donald Trump’s January 6 video to his supporters, video of the formerly-fist pumping Sen. Josh Hawley running from the Capitol attackers he had previously encouraged and an appeal by Rep. Liz Cheney to those who supported Donald Trump on that day.
The hearing was only the second of the group’s nine public gatherings to be scheduled in the evening hours and drew over 17 million viewers across 10 networks.
You can watch the proceedings from the July 21 hearing here.
TIMING ON NEXT HEARINGS –
While the committee had initially indicated that the July 21 conclave would be its last, Rep. Zoe Lofgren later told Martha Radditz on ABC’s This Week recently that “This investigation is very much ongoing.” Lofgren elaborated: “New witnesses are coming forward. Additional information is coming forward. There are things that we are looking at still.”
As the committee’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, put it last week, “the dam has begun to break.”
During the July 21 hearing, Cheney revealed that the committee “will spend August pursuing emerging information on multiple fronts before convening multiple hearings this September.”
POTENTIAL WITNESSES –
Cheney told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union Sunday, “We anticipate talking to additional members of the president’s Cabinet. We anticipate talking to additional members of his campaign. Certainly, we’re very focused as well on the Secret Service.”
The latter may center around the news earlier in July that a number of Secret Service text messages sent on January 5 and 6 had been erased shortly after all such missives were subpoenaed by the committee.
Last week, the committee announced on Twitter that, “The Secret Service has begun producing records pursuant to the subpoena we issued last week.” Those records may play a key role in presenting the tick tock of President Trump’s actions on January 6.
Among those agents Cheney indicated the panel is interested in speaking to are Tony Ornato & Bobby Engel, both of whom were in the limo at the Ellipse on January 6 when then-President Trump may or may not have had some sort of physical altercation with a member of his security detail.
The panel is interested in members of the former president’s Cabinet who may have considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump as violence at the Capitol progressed, according to AP.
Among those officials may be then-education secretary Betsy DeVos, Trump’s transportation secretary Elaine Chao and his treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Another potential witness could be Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She is a conservative political activist who was in contact with White House officials on January 6 around potentially overturning the results of the election.
“We certainly hope that she will agree to come in voluntarily, but the committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not. I hope it doesn’t get to that. I hope she will come in voluntarily,” said Cheney on Sunday. “So it’s very important for us to speak with her and as I said, I hope she will agree to do so voluntarily but I’m sure we will contemplate a subpoena if she won’t.”
There is also more footage from from British filmmaker Alex Holder, who was scheduled to be deposed earlier this month. Holder said in a statement that his upcoming three-part Discovery+ documentary, Unprecedented, was shot in the final six weeks of President Trump’s re-election campaign. He has given the panel video from the documentary, which he says includes contemporaneous interviews with Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
The panel has also considered a potentially-explosive deposition of Trump’s onetime strategist Steve Bannon, who has agreed to testify.
Members have said that the committee is still working out whether the committee would interview former Vice President Mike Pence or his onetime boss, Donald Trump.
NETWORK COVERAGE PLANS (for Thursday, July 21) –
ABC
Good Morning America and GMA3: What You Need to Know will have coverage Thursday and Friday, with reports from chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl on GMA3 on Thursday.
World News Tonight anchor David Muir will lead coverage Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. He will be joined by Karl, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas, congressional correspondent Rachel Scott and legal analyst and contributor Kate Shaw.
ABC News Live will present daylong coverage in advance of the hearing, including live reports and analysis from the outlet’s correspondents and contributors.
ABC News Digital will have a preview, a live blog and key takeaways and highlights to recap the hearing.
ABC News Radio will provide live coverage anchored by senior investigative reporter Aaron Katersky with White House correspondent Karen Travers. Status reports will be offered to affiliates during the hearings, as well as analysis from experts. Friday’s episode of ABC News’ flagship daily podcast Start Here will break down the highlights from the hearing.
ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will be reporting live on the hearing throughout the day on Thursday from Washington and on Capitol Hill. NewsOne provides news content and services for more than 200 ABC affiliates and international news partners.
CBS
CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will lead the network’s live coverage with a CBS News Special Report on the CBS broadcast flagship and also on CBS News Streaming and the CBS News mobile apps.
Uninterrupted coverage will be available to watch at CBSNews.com/hearings. Viewers can also watch CBS News’ live coverage on CBSNews.com and the network’s YouTube channel.
Joining O’Donnell for the special coverage Thursday will be Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, chief political analyst John Dickerson, chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa, chief national affairs and justice correspondent Jeff Pegues and congressional correspondents Scott MacFarlane and Nikole Killion.
Coverage of the hearings will also streamed on the CBS News’ mobile apps. Uninterrupted coverage will be available to watch at CBSNews.com/hearings. Viewers can also watch CBS News’ live coverage on CBSNews.com and the network’s YouTube channel.
Coverage of the hearings will also be included on CBS Mornings, the CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell, CBS Sunday Morning and Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.
CNBC
The News with Shepard Smith Special Edition: January 6 Hearings will air at 8 p.m. ET. CNBC Senior Congressional Correspondent Ylan Mui will be reporting live from Washington, D.C. and the show will feature commentary and analysis from Former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer, Former Federal Prosecutor Renato Mariotti, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danya Perry and RealClearPolitics Associate Editor A.B. Stoddard,
The network’s on-air coverage will also stream live on CNBC.com.
CNN
CNN’s coverage of the January 6 committee hearings will stream live, without requiring a cable log-in via CNN.com and CNN OTT and mobile apps under “TV Channels” or CNNgo where available. CNN will broadcast live on Thursday.
C-SPAN
The public affairs network is serving as the pool for broadcast and cable media and will cover the hearing with seven cameras placed strategically around the stately Cannon Caucus Room. The setup includes a “head on” camera, getting cover shots of the dais; a manned “head on” camera to get shots of committee members; a manned “cut” camera, to get shots of members at the dais or of witnesses and their table; a robotic witness camera; and another witness camera. The hearing will be live on C-SPAN, C-SPAN.org and the C-SPAN Now app.
Fox News
Fox News is sticking with its primetime programming, but will offer coverage of the hearings. Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will anchor the hearing in full on Fox Business. Coverage will also be available on the Fox Nation subscription-based streaming service and at FoxNews.com.
MSNBC
Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and Nicolle Wallace will host special coverage ahead of the hearing beginning at 7 p.m. ET. They will be joined by Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Hayes, Ari Melber and Stephanie Ruhle, as well as Rep. Elaine Luria and Alex Wagner. Following the hearing, the hosts will have special coverage beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Ruhle will continue extended special coverage at 12 a.m. ET.
On Friday, July 22, NBC News chief Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC anchor Katy Tur and NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander will recap the evening’s hearings beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
Starting at 4 p.m. Nicolle Wallace will continue special coverage. Ari Melber will pick up coverage from 6 p.m.-8p.m. ET and Chris Hayes will host an extended edition of All In from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.
At 10 p.m. ET on Friday, Lawrence O’Donnell will host a special edition of The Last Word. Stephanie Ruhle will continue special coverage at 11 p.m. with a special edition of The 11th Hour.
NBC
Ahead of the hearing, Lester Holt will anchor a special at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC News NOW with Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson, Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali and legal analyst Danny Cevallos. Holt will later anchor an NBC News Special Report during the hearing with the same team.
NBCNews.com will carry a robust live blog with the latest breaking news out of the hearing, as well as coverage of key takeaways.
PBS
PBS NewsHour will offer live special coverage of the hearings on broadcast, online and social beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Managing editor Judy Woodruff will anchor, with reporting from Lisa Desjardins at the Capitol. Guests will include Professor Jamil Jaffer, George Mason University law professor, former Department of Justice official, and former associate counsel to former President George W. Bush, Professor Mary McCord, Georgetown University law professor, Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, and former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Evy Poumpouras, journalist and former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent.
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.