Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) said she was "stunned" after the first public hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th riot by Trump supporters.
“I’m completely stunned by the revelations uncovered by the January 6th Committee’s first hearing, which brought to light new details about the attempted coup orchestrated by Donald Trump and his allies,” Sewell said. “Last night’s testimony revealed that even President Trump’s closest advisors knew that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, a large gathering of Trump supporters demanded that Congress postpone the certification of the 2020 electoral college results and instead investigate alleged election fraud they say cost Trump wins in a number of swing states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Following President Trump’s addressing the crowd, the group forced their way into the Capitol Building, where Congress was meeting.
“I applaud our heroic Capitol Police officers for their bravery and sacrifice in the face of Trump’s violent mob,” Sewell continued. “I encourage every American to listen in as the Committee continues to unveil its findings. We must fully understand the events of January 6th to ensure something so heinous NEVER happens again.”
Over 20 million Americans viewed the primetime broadcast of the committee’s public hearing.
U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL05) was part of the movement calling for Congress to not certify the election results because of questions about election integrity. Brooks also addressed the Trump rally the morning of Jan. 6 and is reportedly a subject of the partisan congressional investigation ordered by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California).
Brooks told reporters in Montgomery on Friday that he did not watch the Committee hearing because he had other things to do that night.
Brooks denounced the process in which Pelosi refused to allow the Republican minority to pick their representatives on the committee. Rather than take the picks of the Republican caucus, as normally would occur, the Speaker selected reportedly anti-Trump Republican congressmembers Rep. Elizabeth Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois).
“This is a corrupt process that the Democrats have put together,” Brooks told reporters. “No court of law would ever permit this kind of process in trying to discern what the truth is.”
During the televised hearing, the Committee played videotaped testimony of Trump Administration Attorney General William Barr telling the Committee that Trump and Brooks’ allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election were “bull----.”
“He has no vote,” Brooks told reporters. “And we had about 150 congressmen and U.S. senators who, respectfully to William Barr, disagreed with his conclusions.”
Brooks is expected to be subpoenaed by the committee as are a number of other Republican congressmembers.
The relationship between Trump and Brooks has become strained over the last several months culminating in late Friday evening’s endorsement of Brooks’ opponent, Katie Boyd Britt, in the June 21 Republican primary runoff.
Democrats are hopeful that lingering questions about the events of Jan. 6 will help them hold on to power in both Houses of Congress in the Nov. 8 general elections while distracting voters from the current economic issues, including 8.6% inflation and the soaring cost of gasoline.
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) on Thursday called the hearings “the most political and least legitimate committee in American history.”
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
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