Watch: Jan. 6 committee lays out key findings in final meeting
During the final public hearing of the Jan. 6 House select committee, Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., introduced a video montage recapping the key findings from the panel’s nearly 18-month investigation into the events surrounding the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Video Transcript
BENNIE THOMPSON: Without objection, I include in the record a video presentation of some of the key evidence our investigation has uncovered.
[SHOUTING, SCREAMING]
CAROLINE EDWARDS: There were officers on the ground. They were bleeding. They were throwing up. I mean, I saw friends with blood all over their faces. I was slipping in people's blood.
MICHAEL FANONE: As I was swarmed by a violent mob, they ripped off my badge. They grabbed and stripped me of my radio. They seized ammunition that was secured to my body. They began to beat me with their fists and with what felt like hard metal objects.
ROGER STONE: The key thing to do is to claim victory. No, we won. Fuck you. Sorry. Over. We won. You're wrong. Fuck you.
WILLIAM BARR: Right out of the box on election night, the president claimed that there was major fraud underway. I mean, this happened, as far as I could tell, before there was actually any potential of looking at evidence.
BILL STEPIEN: I didn't think what was happening was necessarily honest or professional at that point in time. So that led to me stepping away.
MATT MORGAN: Generally discussed on that topic was whether the fraud, maladministration, abuse, or irregularities, if aggregated and read most favorably to the campaign, would that be outcome determinative? And I think everyone's assessment in the room, at least amongst the staff, Marc Short, myself, and Greg Jacob, was that it was not sufficient to be outcome-determinant.
EUGENE SCALIA: I told him that I did believe, yes, that once those legal processes were run, if fraud had not been established that had affected the outcome of the election, then, unfortunately, I believed that what had to be done was concede the outcome.
ZOE LOFGREN: What were the chances of President Trump winning the election?
CHRIS STIREWALT: After that point?
ZOE LOFGREN: Yes.
CHRIS STIREWALT: None.
DONALD TRUMP: So what are we going to do here, fellas? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.
BRAD RAFFENSPENGER: The numbers are the numbers. The numbers don't lie. We had many allegations, and we investigated every single one of them.
ADAM SCHIFF: Did one of them make a comment that they didn't have evidence, but they had a lot of theories?
RUSSELL BOWERS: That was Mr. Giuliani.
ADAM SCHIFF: And what exactly did he say? And how'd that came up?
RUSSELL BOWERS: My recollection, he said, we've got lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence. You're asking me to do something that's never been done in history, the history of the United States, and I'm going to put my state through that without sufficient proof?
RUDY GIULIANI: There's a tape earlier in the day of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss and one of the gentlemen quite obviously, surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they're vials of heroin or cocaine.
ADAM SCHIFF: In one of the videos we just watched, Mr. Giuliani accused you and your mother of passing some sort of USB drive to each other. What was your mom actually handing you on that video?
SHAYE FREEMAN MOSS: A ginger mint.
RUBY FREEMAN: Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States to target you? The president of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not to target one.
WILLIAM BARR: I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit.
JEFFREY ROSEN: He wanted to talk about that he thought the election had been stolen or was corrupt and that there was widespread fraud. And I had told him that our reviews had not shown that to be the case.
RICHARD DONOGHUE: And I said something to the effect of, sir, we've done dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews. The major allegations are not supported by the evidence developed.
PAT CIPOLLONE: Well, my first thought was, this is a terrible idea. Jeff Clark cannot be installed as acting attorney general of the United States.
- You ultimately told us that you described this meeting as a-- or, not this meeting, the Georgia letter that was proposed as an "effing murder-suicide pact." Do you remember using the term "murder-suicide?"
PAT CIPOLLONE: Yes.
- Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
- Was it your impression that the vice president had directly conveyed his position on these issues to the president, not just to the world through a dear colleague letter, but directly to President Trump?
MARC SHORT: Many times.
PAT CIPOLLONE: My view is that the vice president hadn't-- didn't have the legal authority to do anything except what he did.
ERIC HERSCHMANN: And I said, well, hold on a second. I want to understand what you're saying. You're saying that you believe the vice president acting as president of the Senate can be the sole decision maker as to, under your theory, who becomes the next president of United States? And he said, yes. I said, are you out of your effing mind?
JASON MILLER: The president was-- you know, all the attention was on what Mike would do or what Mike wouldn't do.
- There's a telephone conversation between the president and the vice president. Is that correct?
- Yes.
IVANKA TRUMP: The conversation was-- was pretty heated.
- Apologize for being impolite, but do you remember what she said the father called him?
JULIE RADFORD: The P word.
- Hang Mike Pence!
- Bring it on!
JULIE RADFORD: It was clear that it was escalating and escalating quickly.
- Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
JULIE RADFORD: So then when that tweet, the Mike Pence tweet, was sent out, I remember us saying that that was the last thing that needed to be tweeted at that moment. It felt like he was pouring gasoline on the fire by tweeting that.
[BEEP]
- They've gained access to the second floor, and I've got public about five feet from me down here below.
- OK, copy. They are on the second floor. Moving in now. We may want to consider getting out and leaving now. Copy?
- The members of the VP detail, at this time, were starting to fear for their own lives. There were calls to say goodbye to family members and so forth.
PETE AGUILAR: Approximately 40 feet, that's all there was, 40 feet between the vice president and the mob.
- Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy.
DONELL HARVIN: We got derogatory information from OSINT suggesting that some very, very violent individuals were organizing to come to DC.
CASSIDY HUTCHINSON: As Mr. Giuliani and I were walking to his vehicles that evening, he looked at me and said something to the effect of, Cass, are you excited for the 6th? It's going to be a great day. I remember looking at him, saying, Rudy, could you explain what's happening on the 6th? He had responded something to the effect of, we're going to the Capitol. It's going to be great. The president's going to be there. He's going to look powerful.
- We were invited by the president of the United States!
ERIC BARBER: He personally asked for us to come to DC that day. And I thought, for everything he's done for us, if this is the only thing he's going to ask of me, I'll do it.
STEPHEN AYERS: Well, basically, the president got everybody riled up, told everybody to head on down. So we basically were just following what he said.
[SHOUTING]
- We've lost the line! We've lost the line! All [INAUDIBLE] get back!
- Within 15 minutes of leaving the stage, President Trump knew that the Capitol was besieged and under attack.
LIZ CHENEY: So are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the Secretary of Defense that day?
PAT CIPOLLONE: Not that I'm aware of, no.
LIZ CHENEY: Are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the attorney general of the United States that day?
PAT CIPOLLONE: No.
LIZ CHENEY: Are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the Secretary of Homeland Security that day?
PAT CIPOLLONE: I'm not aware of that, no.
- Did you ever hear the vice president-- or, excuse me, the president--
KEITH KELLOGG: No.
- --ask for the National Guard?
KEITH KELLOGG: No.
- Did you ever hear the president ask for a law enforcement response?
KEITH KELLOGG: No.
MARK MILLEY: You've got an assault going on on the Capitol of the United States of America. And there's nothing? No call? Nothing? Zero?
- Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
CASSIDY HUTCHINSON: I remember Pat saying something to the effect of, Mark, we need to do something more. They're literally calling for the vice president to be effing hung. And Mark had responded something to the effect of, you heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they're doing anything wrong.
LIZ CHENEY: Who on the staff did not want people to leave the Capitol?
PAT CIPOLLONE: On the staff?
LIZ CHENEY: In the White House?
PAT CIPOLLONE: [STAMMERING] I can't think of anybody, you know, on that day who didn't want people to get out of the Capitol once the-- particularly once the violence started. No. I mean.
ADAM SCHIFF: What about the president?
LIZ CHENEY: Yeah.
PAT CIPOLLONE: Well, she said the staff, so I answered.
LIZ CHENEY: No, I said in the White House.
PAT CIPOLLONE: Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I thought you said, who else on the staff? Yeah, I can't reveal the communications. But obviously, I think, you know. Yeah.
ERIC HERSCHMANN: I said, good, John, now I'm going to give you the best free legal advice you're ever getting in your life. Get a great effing criminal defense lawyer. You're going to need it.
LIZ CHENEY: General Flynn, do you believe in the peaceful transition of power in the United States of America?
MICHAEL FLYNN: The Fifth.
[SHOUTING, BLOWS LANDING]
- We've got another officer unconscious at the terrace, West Terrace.
[SHOUTING]
DONALD TRUMP: I don't want to say the election's over. I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election's over, OK?
