“We are going to make the connection during these hearings between these groups and those who were trying – in government circles – to annul the elections. So we think this story is unfolding in a very serious and very credible way. , Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California said of Tuesday’s hearing and another that wasn’t scheduled in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on « State of the Union. »
The congresswoman said the hearings will focus on links between the Trump administration and militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. She acknowledged that Roger Stone, an ally of former President Donald Trump, and Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, could be two such relationships, among others.
Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy, who also sits on the committee, told NBC on Sunday that the panel could present evidence that members of Congress encouraged extremist groups to come to Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, making echoing Trump’s tweet in December 2020 that January 6 would be « wild ». She called the tweet a « siren call » for these groups.
“I think this is all pretty public,” Murphy said of members of Congress inviting extremists to Washington on the day of the uprising. « They’ve been quite public about their efforts to amplify the president’s call to use January 6 as the last bulwark in this effort to remain president. »
Another Jan. 6 panelist, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, told CBS on Sunday that Tuesday’s hearing will reveal « the fundamental significance of a meeting that took place at the White House on Dec. 18, » after what Trump sent the tweet asking his supporters to come to DC on January 6th.
“People are going to hear the story of that tweet and then the explosive effects it had in the Trump world and especially among domestic violent extremist groups – the most dangerous political extremists in the country at this time,” Raskin said.
A « dereliction of duty »
Murphy also suggested that the Jan. 6 panel could feature video of Trump’s White House attorney Pat Cipollone’s interview last week with the committee as part of its Tuesday hearing.
“I imagine you will hear things from Mr. Cipollone, but also others who were in the White House,” she said.
Cipollone met with the committee for nearly eight hours on Friday. He did not respond to CNN’s questions as he entered or left the room. His appearance was the result of months of negotiations between his attorneys and the Jan. 6 panel over what topics might be discussed. He had already met informally with the committee in April.
Cipollone’s meeting with the panel came less than two weeks after former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the committee last month in a blockbuster hearing. Hutchinson described his White House experience as someone close to Trump’s inner circle in the days leading up to and including the Capitol Hill riot and also shared details of his conversations with Cipollone.
Cipollone was among a handful of people who hung out with Trump as he watched the Capitol riot unfold on television from a dining room next to the Oval Office, according to two sources familiar with the Trump investigation. panel. The committee heard from other witnesses, who said Cipollone, as well as other senior Trump advisers, including Ivanka Trump and Dan Scavino, were with the president at various times during this time, and Cipollone could help make the light on Trump’s state of mind as violence took place.
Lofgren, meanwhile, told Tapper that Cipollone « was able to provide information on virtually every critical issue that we are looking at and including those of the president – what I would call a dereliction of duty on the day of the January 6 ».
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Zachary Cohen and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.
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