U.S. House panel investigating Capitol riot and aims for May hearings

U.S. House panel investigating Capitol riot and aims for May hearings. 

WASHINGTON: The congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump plans to have public hearings on its conclusions in May, according to U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin.

“The hearings are expected to begin in early May. That is exactly what I am hoping for. But, we’re obviously up against many roadblocks,” Raskin, a member of the House Select Committee, made the statement on Jan. 6.

In its probe of the incident, the Select Committee conducted hundreds of interviews as lawmakers in the Capitol were about to certify Republican Trump’s loss in the November 2020 presidential election.

MORE: Germany demands more sanctions on Russia after the Bucha killings.

“The links between the internal political coup and the violent insurgency are what we’re looking for. And I am optimistic that we will be able to tell that story, “Raskin remarked.

On Thursday, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, testified before the committee. Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife, and Trump’s older daughter will also be interviewed by the panel.

On Monday, the panel decided unanimously to charge Peter Navarro, a former Trump trade advisor, and Daniel Scavino, a Trump deputy chief of staff, with “contempt of Congress.”

According to Raskin, the committee is still looking into a seven-hour gap in White House records of Trump’s phone calls on the day of the horrific attack.

“We don’t have a thorough fine-grained depiction of what was going on throughout that era, and that’s obviously of great interest to us,” Raskin said, adding that witness evidence has provided the panel with insight into talks that occurred during that period. “It appears that the gaps are strangely fitted to the circumstances.”

Last year, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said he spoke with Trump during the incident and advised him to call off his followers and accept defeat.