Select Committee Hearing #7
The January 6 Committee held its seventh public hearing on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.
The committee is investigating the attack of the US Capitol with a focus on the Trump administration and its alleged ties to extremist groups who stormed the Capitol.
Opening remarks by committee chair, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson:
“When I think about the most basic way to explain the importance of elections in the United States, there’s a phrase that always comes to mind. It may sound straightforward, but it’s meaningful: We settle our differences at the ballot box.
“Sometimes my choice prevails. Sometimes yours does. But it’s that simple. We cast our votes. We count the votes. If something seems off with the results, we can challenge them in court. And then we accept the results.
“When you’re on the losing side, that doesn’t mean you have to be happy about it.
“And in the United States, there’s plenty you can do and say so.
“You can protest. You can organize. You can get ready for the next election to try to make sure your side has a better chance the next time the people settle their differences at the ballot box.
“But you can’t turn violent. You can’t try to achieve your desired outcome through force or harassment or intimidation.
“Any real leader who sees their supporters going down that path—approaching that line—has a responsibility to say, “Stop. We gave it our best. We came up short. We’ll try again next time. Because we settle our differences at the ballot box.”
“On December 14th, 2020, the Presidential election was officially over. The Electoral College had cast its votes. Joe Biden was the President-elect of the United States.
“By that point, many of Donald Trump’s supporters were already convinced that the election had been stolen, because that’s what Donald Trump had been telling them.
“So what Donald Trump was required to do in that moment—what would have been required of any American leader—was to say, “We did our best and we came up short.”
“He went the opposite way. He seized on the anger he had already stoked among his most loyal supporters. And as they approached the line, he didn’t wave them off. He urged them on.
“Today the committee will explain how as part of his last-ditch effort to overturn the election and block the transfer of power, Donald Trump summoned a mob to Washington, DC, and ultimately spurred that mob to wage a violent attack on our democracy.
“Our colleagues Mrs. Murphy of Florida and Mr. Raskin of Maryland will lay out this story.
Follow the progress of the committee at january6th.house.gov.
