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Jan. 6 hearing told Trump knew plan to pressure Pence was illegal, went ahead anyway

PHOTO: An image of the attack on the US Capitol is projected at the hearing where the House Select Committee investigates the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2022.
4:16
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Jan. 6 hearings: Day 3 key moments
By Libby Cathey, Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: June 16, 2022, 9:39 PM

The House's Jan. 6 committee held its third public hearing of the month, on Thursday, with the focus on the pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike Pence.

The committee detailed the efforts of then-President Donald Trump and his allies before and on Jan. 6, 2021, to get Pence to reject electoral votes Congress was certifying -- as part of what it says was a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

  • Chair teases tip line, exhibits available to public online
  • Cheney previews next hearing
  • Eastman emailed Rudy Giuliani to be on 'pardon list,' committee says
  • Trump attorney pressured Pence to delay certification even after the riot, email shows
  • Witnesses recount for first time ‘heated’ Jan. 6 call between Trump, Pence: 'Wimp'
All times Eastern.

Jun 16, 2022 9:39 PM

Witness warns Trump allies 'executing a blueprint' to overturn 2024 election

Former federal judge Michael Luttig, in his closing comments before the committee, reiterated what he said in a New York Times op-ed in February -- that Trump and his allies were "a clear and present danger to democracy," warning that Trump or his "anointed successor" could succeed in 2024 in overturning those presidential election results where they failed in 2020.

"The former president and his allies are executing a blueprint for 2024, in open and plain view of the American public," Luttig told lawmakers.

Judge Luttig believes former Pres. Trump and his supporters "are a clear and present danger to American democracy," saying he worries they will "succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020.""I don't speak those words lightly." More: https://t.co/uStgMcKNft pic.twitter.com/UEUNmhZGSd

— ABC News (@ABC) June 16, 2022

"I don't speak those words lightly. I would have never spoken those words I ever in my life," he said. "Except that's what the former president and his allies are telling us."

Chairman Bennie Thompson thanked the witnesses for protecting the "foundation" of U.S. democracy and reiterated hit warning as well.

"There are now some who think the danger has passed. That even though there was violence and a corrupt attempt to overturn the presidential election, the system worked," the Mississippi Democrat said. "I look at it another way: Our system nearly failed, and our democratic foundation destroyed but for people like you."

PHOTO: A tweet from former President Donald Trump appears on a screen at the hearing where the House Select Committee investigates the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2022.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A tweet from former President Donald Trump appears on a screen at the hearing where the House Select Committee investigates the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2022.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Jun 16, 2022 8:14 PM

Chair teases tip line, exhibits available to public online

Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., closing out Thursday's hearing, drew attention to the committee's website -- -- where the public can view the evidence presented in the public hearings and send tips to the committee as its investigation is ongoing.

"Despite how you may not think it's important, send us what you think," he said. "I thank those that sent us evidence, for their bravery and patriotism."

PHOTO: Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson speaks as Rep. Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Liz Cheney, listen, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, June 16, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson speaks as Rep. Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Liz Cheney, listen, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, June 16, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Jun 16, 2022 8:09 PM

Cheney previews next hearing

With searing new evidence, the committee on Thursday sought to draw a direct link between Trump's actions and the Capitol attack, which it maintained put Vice President Mike Pence's life at serious risk.

Vice Chair Liz Cheney, in her closing statement, previewed evidence still to come, promising information in their next hearing on Tuesday about Trump's efforts to apply pressure to Republican slate legislators, election officials and even federal officials to corrupt the electoral count vote.

PHOTO: An image of former President Donald Trump and his family is displayed on a screen at the hearing where the House Select Committee investigates the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2022.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
An image of former President Donald Trump and his family is displayed on a screen at the hearing where the House Select Committee investigates the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2022.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

"We will examine the Trump team's determination to transmit material false electoral slates from multiple states to officials of the executive and legislative branches of our government," she said, and "the pressures put on state legislators to convene to reverse lawful election results."

After establishing Pence on Thursday as an "honorable man" who had the courage to carry out his constitutional duty on Jan. 6 despite a pressure campaign and threats to his life, Cheney ended by drawing a stark contrast with Trump.

“An honorable man receiving the information and advice that Mr. Trump received from his campaign experts and his staff, a man who loved his country more than himself would have conceded this election," she said. "Indeed, we know that a number of President Trump's closest aides urged him to do so."



Jun 16, 2022 8:03 PM

Eastman emailed Rudy Giuliani to be on 'pardon list,' committee says

Trump-allied attorney John Eastman, in the days after Jan. 6, emailed Rudy Giuliani about a possible pardon.

"I've decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works," Eastman wrote to Giuliani, the committee showed.

Eastman wasn't pardoned and when he was was deposed by the House panel, he pleaded the fifth 100 times, Rep. Pete Aguilar noted.


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