The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to begin holding public hearings to tell the story of the insurrection from start to finish while writing an interim report on its findings by summer, as it shifts into a more public phase of its work, reports the Washington Post. The panel will continue to collect information and seek testimony from willing witnesses and those who have been reluctant, including Republican members of Congress. It is examining whether to recommend that the Justice Department pursue charges against anyone, including former President Trump, and whether legislative proposals are needed to help prevent valid election results from being overturned.
“We have to address it — our families, our districts and our country demand that we get as much of the causal effects of what occurred and come up with some recommendations for the House so that it won’t ever happen again,” said committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS). The committee has taken in a massive amount of data — interviewing more than 300 witnesses, announcing more than 50 subpoenas, obtaining more than 35,000 pages of records and receiving hundreds of telephone leads through a Jan. 6 tip line. Trump and Republican leaders have opposed the investigation into the attack from the start and have called the committee’s work a partisan exercise meant to damage the former president and the GOP ahead of the midterms. The rough timeline being discussed among senior committee staffers includes public hearings starting this winter and stretching into spring, an interim report in the summer and a final report ahead of November’s elections.