What did Americans learn in the Jan. 6 committee's hearing on the Capitol attack?

WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack on Thursday sought to build a case that Donald Trump was the driving force behind an attempted coup that culminated in the insurrection at the Capitol.

“President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack,” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the committee, said during her opening remarks of the panel's first prime-time hearing.

That narrative has been told before but largely disseminated in broad sweeps, through media leaks and other accounts. Thursday night's hearing attempted to tie together those chapters in an official and chronological recounting of the events of that day, sprinkling in previously unknown or unconfirmed details.

The committee shared previously unseen videotaped depositions from witnesses, text messages from Trump aides and internal memos. They were used to reinforce evidence that has trickled out during the committee's months-long investigation.

"There was a flow of new evidence that comes out of the mouths of arch-Republicans and former Trump allies," said Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of a new report called "Trump on Trial: A Guide to the January 6 Hearings and the Question of Criminality."

'Slipping in people's blood': Takeaways from prime-time Jan. 6 hearing

Even for those who have closely followed the investigation, the deluge of material left observers sifting through what was new and what was regurgitated. Here's a breakdown to sort it out:

What we already knew: The plot

Most of the events discussed at the hearing have long been known broadly. What's new are some of the details about Trump's alleged plot to reverse his election loss and his encouragement of extremist supporters to protest it – details provided from people who were close to him or at least in the vicinity.

The public had already learned that Trump did not deploy the National Guard to Capitol Hill; that aides told him repeatedly that he had lost the election; that the president spoke approvingly of hanging his vice president; and that he was approached about pardons for GOP lawmakers who sought to overturn the election.

There are new details on the scope and intensity of those efforts, many of them from allies of Trump.

Details that emerged: 

Trump did not deploy the National Guard

The committee said evidence shows Trump did not call on any part of the federal government – including deploying the National Guard or contacting the Pentagon – to respond to the attack as it unfolded.

"Vice President (Mike) Pence did each of those things," Cheney said, showing a previously unreleased videotaped deposition from Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "He was very animated, very direct, very firm," Milley said of Pence. “And to (acting Secretary of Defense Christopher) Miller: ‘Get the military down here, get the Guard down here. Put down this situation.’”

More: Meet the members of the January 6 House select committee ahead of first public hearing Thursday

Milley recounted that Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told him, "We have to kill the narrative that the vice president is making all the decisions. We need to establish the narrative that the president is still in charge, that things are steady or stable."

Milley said, "I immediately interpreted that as politics, politics, politics."

Trump 'knew' he lost the election

Cheney highlighted a pair of previously unreleased videotaped depositions of Trump aides to argue the president "knew" he'd lost the 2020 election – a significant point as the committee argues he knowingly lied to the public in claiming election fraud.

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said campaign data expert Matt Oczkowski told the president days after the election in "pretty blunt terms that he was going to lose."

Jan. 6 committee hearing schedule: Here's what we know

Cheney shared a video of Trump campaign lawyer Alex Cannon recounting how he told Meadows, "We weren't finding anything that would be sufficient to change the results in any of the key states."

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner depositions 

Previously unreleased videotaped depositions from Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, showed that members of his own family did not agree with his claims that the election was stolen.

Ivanka Trump told the committee she accepted then-Attorney General William Barr's finding that there wasn't sufficient fraud to overturn the 2020 election – in contrast to her father.

“It affected my perspective,” she said. “I respect Attorney General Barr, so I accepted what he was saying."

Cheney showed video of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, telling the committee that he shrugged off threats from Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone before Jan. 6 that he might resign because of potential lawless activity.

"I kind of took it up to just be whining, to be honest with you," Kushner said.

Trump on hanging Pence: 'Maybe our supporters have the right idea'

The committee revealed previously unreported comments from Trump detailing how he ignored pleas from his aides to call off the Capitol attack as it was occurring.

Cheney said hearings will show that Trump believed rioters at the Capitol were, in his words, "doing what they should be doing."

More: Jan. 6 committee told that Trump spoke approvingly of calls to 'hang Mike Pence', report says

Cheney said testimony will show Trump’s response to “Hang Mike Pence” chants on Jan. 6 was that “maybe our supporters have the right idea" and that Mike Pence "deserves it.”

Trump denied saying any such thing. On the Truth Social website Friday, he said, "I NEVER said, or even thought of saying, 'Hang Mike Pence.' This is either a made up story by somebody looking to become a star, or FAKE NEWS!"

Republican Congress members sought pardons from Trump after Jan. 6

Cheney said multiple Republican members of Congress – singling out only Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., by name – sought presidential pardons from Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Cheney said Perry was involved in trying to replace acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official who promised to pursue claims of election fraud.

"Multiple other Republican congressmen also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election," Cheney said.

Perry denied it all, saying on social media Friday, "The notion that I ever sought a Presidential pardon for myself or other Members of Congress is an absolute, shameless, and soulless lie."

Testimony from Proud Boys organizers

The committee revealed videotaped depositions from members of the far-right group Proud Boys to try to prove a link between their activity and Trump.

After a 2020 presidential debate in which Trump told Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by," the organization's membership "tripled," Proud Boys member Jeremy Bertino told the committee, according to a videotaped deposition.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee's chairman, pointed to a tweet from Trump on Dec. 19 calling his followers to rally in Washington on Jan. 6. Thompson said the committee has "substantial evidence" that the tweet energized individuals from the Proud Boys and other extremist groups.

After that tweet – “Be there, will be wild!" Trump wrote –  the committee said Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio created a social media group to organize its members for Jan. 6.

Former AG William Barr told Trump his argument was 'bull----'

The committee played video testimony from Barr, who provided a pungent description of Trump's election protest: "Bull----."

Barr used the same barnyard epithet in his book, titled "One Damn Thing After Another." Barr wrote that he told Trump, "The fact is, we have looked at the major claims your people are making, and they are bull----.”

Barr's testimony contains more details and context about his interactions with Trump and how he made clear his view that the president had lost the election.

More: Former Attorney General Bill Barr meets with Jan. 6 committee about Trump election fraud claims

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jan. 6 hearing: Which details were new, which already known