UNITED STATES: The Jan 6 Committee’s latest public hearing on Thursday said that the then POTUS Donald Trump deliberately chose not to intervene as an enraged mob of right-wing white supremacists, who happened to be his supporters, invaded the halls of the Capitol in the infamous January 6 insurrection.
“President Trump did not fail to act, he chose not to act,” said Adam Kinzinger. Kinzinger is one of the 10 Republicans who voted in the impeachment trial against Trump to accuse him of instigating an uprising.
The public hearing on Thursday primarily focused on what went down in the 187 minutes between Trump’s speech, during which he ignited sparks of revolutionary insurrection against those in the Capitol, and later, released a video urging people to go back home.
Congresswoman Elaine Luria remarked on Trump’s complete inadequacy and inefficiency as the President of the free world.
She said, “Trump sat in his dining room and watched the attack on television while his senior-most staff, closest advisers, and family members begged him to do what is expected of any American president.”
She also added, “President Trump refused to act because of his selfish desire to stay in power.”
The selective Jan 6 committee, which comprises seven Democrats and two Republicans, confirmed through interviews, that Trump did not call upon senior law enforcement agencies or his closest ally and then Vice President Mike Pence’s staff or other Washington officials to issue orders to provide police aide or military manpower to stop the attack.
The heading also played tapes of Trump’s speech after the Capitol riot, highlighting his utter laxity in handling the situation. The former President was seen evading the lines on the script handed to him, which said “the election is over”.
He mentioned his resignation in a roundabout way. “I don’t want to say the election is over. I just want to say Congress has certified the results,” he told his staff. He also refused to label the rioters as criminals or unlawful miscreants. “I can’t say that,” he said.
Several eye-witnesses, from Trump’s inner circle, have a first-hand experience of what happened in the White House while the riot was well underway.
Sarah Matthews, a former Trump deputy press secretary, testified that Trump did not lift a single finger to publicly address his nation and put a stop to the riots, which was wholly possible at the time.
She also confirmed that the former leader was resisting sending a peace message to the Capitol delinquents.
The committee announced that it will reconvene for three more hearings in September to unearth more harrowing and incriminating details of the Capitol riot.
