House Jan. 6 Committee Reveals New Details In Hearing On Capitol Assault

The public hearing of the House Jan. 6  committee kicked off Thursday night with never-before-seen videos of testimony of some of the major players in the Trump administration, including former Attorney General William Barr saying he told former President Donald Trump that his claims of a stolen election were "bullsh**."

"I had three discussions with the president that I can recall," Barr said in his testimony. "…I made it clear that i did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullsh**. And I didn't want to be a part of it and that's one of the reasons that went into me deciding to leave when I did. I observed, I think it was Dec. 1, that you can't live in a world where the incumbent administration stays in power based on its view, unsupported by specific evidence. that there was fraud in the election."

Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney in their extraordinary opening statements detailed what Cheney called a "conspiracy" – and how many people were involved. Cheney said there were Republican members of Congress who sought pardons for their actions on Jan. 6. 

Cheney had harsh words for her fellow Republicans who were involved and those who have fallen in line since the attack: "There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone but your dishonor will remain." 

Thursday's hearing features two witnesses: Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who followed the Proud Boys on Jan. 6 and recorded hours of video that day, and Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, the first law enforcement officer injured by rioters storming the Capitol grounds. Edwards suffered a traumatic brain injury and has not been able to return to work since the attack, according to the committee. Upon her arrival on Thursday to the hearing, Edwards said "good to go" when asked if she was ready. 

James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, helped the committee put together its presentation, which will include audio and video elements. 

Among those attending the hearing are the widows of Capitol Police officers Howard Liebengood and Jeff Smith, who both died by suicide following the Capitol attack. 

The committee has interviewed more than 1,000 individuals, gathered more than 140,000 documents and received nearly 500 "substantive" tips on its tip line. Members have spent nearly a year reviewing documents and hearing testimony from people ranging from former Trump officials to Capitol police to riot defendants.