January 6 Committee calls a surprise session to hear ‘recently obtained evidence’ on Tuesday at 1pm
The select committee investigating the Capitol Hill riots has scheduled another public hearing, which could give insight into Trump’s inner circle.
In a surprise development, the House select committee investigating the attack on Congress has announced that it will hold an extra public hearing on Tuesday 28 June. The stated purpose is “to present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony.”
The hearing will take place at 1pm ET on Capitol Hill and will be available to watch live, but the exact topic of the new information has not yet been confirmed by the committee.
The most recent public hearing concentrated on former President Trump’s attempts to coerce the Department of Justice into overturning his 2020 election defeat to President Joe Biden. The committee had planned to hold seven hearings, but this latest addition bumps the total up to eight.
Who will appear at the surprise January 6 committee hearing?
The committee has not confirmed details of anyone set to appear later today, but Politico reports that Cassidy Hutchinson, a onetime top aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, will testify.
Earlier this month Hutchinson replaced her attorney, moving on from a former chief ethics lawyer to the Trump White House. Her new attorney is a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Exactly what Hutchinson will testify to is still unknown but it seems likely that she has been called upon to outline dealings in Trump’s inner circle in the build-up to January 6. She has already testified before the committee and stated that she intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.
She previously confirmed that her former boss, Meadows, burned some papers after meeting with Rep. Scott Perry. The Republican congressman was thought to be pushing Trump to replace the Secretary of State for Justice to aid his attempt to involve the department in his effort to overturn the election.
Hutchinson has also stated that Trump’s team was informed that the plot to send an alternative slate of presidential electors was illegal. That the former President pushed ahead with the plan, even mounting huge pressure on his own Vice President to disregard the legitimate votes cast by the real electors, could be a key detail in attempts to draw the link between Trump and the violence that erupted.
Hutchinson has also previously suggested that Meadows was in secret communication with someone during the rally which led to the riot on Capitol Hill. She told the committee:
“I know that he was on several calls during the rally. And I went over to meet with him at one point, and he had just waved me away, which is out of the ordinary.”