However, those hearings and the report are unlikely not to contain dense, text-heavy presentations. According to four people familiar, multimedia elements and video evidence are expected to be crucial to both of these efforts.
One person said that they didn’t expect the Mueller Report. This refers to Robert Mueller’s 448-page report about Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election and the conduct of former President Donald Trump’s advisers.
Members of the committee are driven by the desire to connect with Americans who may feel they know the story of Trump’s campaign to win victory and the Capitol assault. This is even after President Joe Biden was elected the winner of 2020. The people stated that recent committee discussions have been focused on how to grab the nation’s attention, and make sure their findings are heard on social media and broadcast.
“You will see video. You will see text messages. The timeline will be displayed. You will see the timeline.
The 13-minute video that House managers of impeachment presented at the opening of Trump’s Senate trial in Feb 2021 is one example of the committee’s efforts. This video produced a dramatic, behind-the scenes video that was taken from smartphones and social media, as well as security-camera footage to show the severity and scope of the violence during the attack at the Capitol.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Democrat of Maryland) was the lead impeachment manager in 2013. He is currently on the House select panel and working closely to the committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (Democrat of Mississippi), and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney (Republican of Wyoming), to map the hearings and prepare the report. With the help of advisers who are experts in video and communications, the people stated.
Thompson also used video to inaugurate the first round of hearings by the committee last July. Capitol Police officers emotional recounted their experiences with the rioters and how they felt for hours.
“Video shocks your senses. They’re probably trying to remind you of the profundity of this event. David Axelrod, a veteran Democratic strategist, said that this was not a blip or protest that went out of control but a violent rebellion. Sharing video is the best way to achieve that.
Axelrod said, “The challenge it to make it meaningful for people and not just retrospective, with information not yet made public.”
Trump supporters say that the committee faces a difficult task with many Republicans who continue to cheer Trump’s disapproval of the House select committee.
“This has dragged on so long,” said Republican consultant Ed Rollins who manages Great America PAC (a pro-Trump group). The committee must carefully lay it out because Republicans won’t pay attention to a report of 800 pages. I wonder, however, if people will be paying attention with the war in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the House select committee declined comment.
Thompson told reporters recently that the goal of investigators was to complete depositions with witnesses before April 1. Thompson stated that the committee would hold public hearings in April, followed by an interim report in June.
However, the timeline of the committee could be extended if investigators discover new information or request testimony and records from additional witnesses.
The plan does not include showing video evidence and multimedia evidence of the attack. People claimed that another important aspect of the hearings will be the reporting on Trump’s efforts to delay Mr. Biden’s certification, and how he rallied slates of “alternate voters” in different states, and worked with allies such as Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, and other people.
In a court filing, the House select Committee stated in that it had evidence Trump and his associates engaged in a “criminal conspiracies” to stop Congress from certifying this election. The filing also detailed how John Eastman, a Trump ally and adviser, advised Trump to “press an illegal plan” in order to get Vice President Mike Pence involved during the January 6 certification.
Charles Burnham, Eastman’s attorney has criticised the committee for accusing him of criminal activity and claimed Eastman is protecting client confidences by refusing to give the selected committee the documents it requested.
Even without Eastman’s documents the committee still has a lot of material to work with as it creates video presentations for the hearings.
The committee has thousands of texts from Mark Meadows, former White House chief-of-staff, that provide crucial information about the White House’s response and Trump’s decision making before and after the attack at the Capitol.
It is not clear who could be assigned to edit video and integrate tranches of testimony and data into a multimedia report. The committee may also consult outside advisers. People close to the committee warned that the discussions are fluid.
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat of California) is the House Speaker. She created the House Select Committee last year to investigate the attack on January 6. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol during Congress’ counting of the electoral votes. This was a largely ceremonial step in Mr. Biden’s victory. Five people were killed and hundreds more were arrested in the riot. One week later, Trump was impeached for inciting the riot by the House. However, the Senate cleared him.
According to an aide to the panel, investigators have already spoken to more than 650 witnesses so far. The committee has publicly issued over 90 subpoenas targeting witnesses from Trump’s inner circle, rightwing extremists, and organizers of the January 6 rally.
