WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee hearing scheduled for prime time Thursday will offer the most compelling evidence yet of then-President Donald Trump’s “dereliction of duty” on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection. when new witnesses detail his failure to stop an angry mob from storming the Capitol, members of the panel said Sunday.
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“This will be a big eye opener for people,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican on the House committee investigating the riot, who will help co-chair Thursday’s session with Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat. “The president did nothing.”
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After a year of investigation, the commission investigating what happened on January 6, 2021 seeks to conclude what could be its last hearing, even as the investigation intensifies.
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The commission says it continues to receive new evidence daily and is not ruling out additional hearings or interviews with several people close to the president. One of them is Steve Bannon, whose trial begins this week on charges of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a House panel subpoena.
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The commission also issued an extraordinary subpoena last week for the Secret Service to produce texts about Jan. 5 and 6 by Tuesday, after conflicting reports about whether or not they were redacted.
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But panel members say Thursday’s hearing will be the most specific yet in presenting and piecing together previously known details about how Trump’s actions ran contrary to his constitutional duty to stop the Jan. 6 riot. Unlike members of the public who generally do not have a duty to take action to prevent a crime, the Constitution requires a president to “see to it that the laws are exactly executed.”
“The commander in chief is the only person in the Constitution who is explicitly established to ensure that laws are executed accurately,” Luria said. “I see it as a dereliction of duty. (Trump) did not act. He had a duty to do it.”
Thursday’s hearing will be the first in prime time since the opening June 9 session, which was watched by nearly 20 million people.
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Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
Fuente: Associated Press
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