The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol has interviewed more than 1,000 individuals and gathered more than 140,000 documents. Its members have spent nearly a year reviewing documents and hearing testimony from figures ranging from former Trump officials to Capitol police to riot defendants.
This month, the House select committee is holding a series of public hearings on what it uncovered in its 11-month probe.
Here are some of the key figures involved:
Steve Bannon: The former White House chief strategist spoke with Trump at 8:37 a.m. on Jan. 6, and told him to call Mike Pence to urge him to block certification of the election. Bannon was subpoenaed to testify and turn over records to the select committee and refused to do so. He was indicted last fall for contempt of Congress and has pleaded not guilty.
Jeffrey Clark: Clark worked in the Justice Department and was a key figure in raising doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election with Trump. A Senate Judiciary Committee report found he attempted to use Justice Department resources to delay certification of the election results and was in contact with Trump in the days leading up to Jan. 6. The select committee subpoenaed Clark for testimony and records in October and moved to hold him in contempt when he failed to appear. But the panel then granted him a reprieve after he indicated he would sit for a deposition and invoke the Fifth Amendment.
John Eastman: A former law professor at Chapman University, Eastman devised the legal strategy for Vice President Mike Pence to delay counting or reject electoral votes from key states on Jan. 6, overturning the outcome of the election. Since January, Eastman has been involved in a legal battle with the select committee over a subpoena to Chapman for emails he exchanged using his university email account.
Rudy Giuliani: The former New York City mayor and former personal attorney for Trump is, according to the committee, an “important witness to the conspiracy to overthrow the government.” His number, as well as Bannon’s, appeared on the White House call log on the morning of Jan. 6. Giuliani led the legal fight to keep Trump in office and at one point was suspended from practicing law in New York and the District Columbia over his attempts to overturn the election. In May, Giuliani testified virtually before the select committee for nine hours.
Mark Meadows: Trump’s chief of staff at the time of the assault cooperated in part with the the committee, turning over text messages and emails, but he would not be deposed, citing Trump’s privilege claims. His texts revealed Trump allies pleading with Meadows on Jan. 6 to intervene and get Trump to stop the violence. Ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, his texts showed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested Meadows look into the possibility of imposing martial law. The Justice Department recently declined to prosecute Meadows for refusing to cooperate with House investigators.
Mike Pence: He was in the Capitol presiding over the joint session of Congress to affirm the results of the Electoral College as rioters shouted,”Hang Mike Pence” outside the Capitol. The vice president was whisked away by Secret Service just before rioters breached the area where he would have been. Trump publicly pressed Pence to stop the certification of the election on Jan. 6. Pence refused and said he had no choice but to certify the results. He called the idea of overturning an election “un-American.”
Stewart Rhodes: The founder of the far-right and anti-government Oath Keepers group has pleaded guilty to the high-level charges of seditious conspiracy and obstructing Congress’ certification of the Electoral College votes. According to court documents, Rhodes attempted to contact Trump during the attack.
Enrique Tarrio: The leader of the far-right Proud Boys has been charged with seditious conspiracy, along with four of the group’s other members. They stand accused of conspiring to use force to oppose the lawful transfer of power on Jan. 6, according to a grand jury indictment filed this week. Tarrio pleaded not guilty.
Donald Trump: House investigators are hoping to learn more about what the president said and did on Jan. 6, 2021, although Trump has continued to insist the election was stolen and unfair. And as some of the president’s allies urged him to call off the rioters, the president who could have fired off tweets condemning the violence and the rioters was silent for hours.
Witnesses
Day 1
Caroline Edwards: U.S. Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards was the first law enforcement officer hurt by rioters as they stormed the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. Since then, her injuries have prevented her from returning to the role she had as a member of the USCP First Responder Unit.
Nick Quested: Quested, a filmmaker and documentarian, captured the movements and chaos at the Capitol on Jan. 6. He’s an acclaimed filmmaker who was nominated for an Academy Award for producing “Restrepo,” which followed a platoon in Afghanistan for a year.
The Committee
Bennie Thompson: As chairman of the panel, Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, is responsible for issuing subpoenas. Thompson was appointed to the role by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Liz Cheney: A Republican congresswoman and vice chair of the committee, Cheney was ousted from her House Republican leadership position over her vocal support for impeaching Trump and for her continued public assertion that Trump lost. Cheney has called the insurrection and false claims about the 2020 election an “ongoing threat.”
Adam Kinzinger: The Illinois representative is the only other Republican on the select committee and, like Cheney, voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection. He has continued to be one of the most vocal critics of Trump and the so-called “Big Lie,” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from the former president. Kinzinger opted not to run for re-election this year after the Illinois state legislature passed a new map of voting boundaries that put him and fellow GOP Rep. Darin LaHood in the same district.
Zoe Lofgren: Lofgren, a California Democrat, was one of the House managers in the president’s first impeachment trial. She also participated in the Nixon and Clinton impeachment proceedings.
Adam Schiff: Schiff was the lead impeachment manager in the first impeachment trial of then-President Trump over his handling of a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Pete Aguilar: Aguilar is the vice chair of the House Democratic caucus. He has said the committee must “come together in an apolitical way” to tell the story of what happened on Jan. 6.
Stephanie Murphy: Murphy, a Floridian, is not running for reelection this year. She is the co-chair of Democrats’ moderate Blue Dog Coalition.
Jamie Raskin: The Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol came only days after Raskin lost his son, Tommy, to suicide. Days after that, Raskin led the second impeachment trial against Trump.
Elaine Luria: Luria is a Navy veteran from Virginia. She has described the details the committee has unearthed so far as “shocking.”