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Fact Sheet

5 Things to Know Before The January 6th Committee Hearings

By June 9, 2022No Comments

Today, the House Select Committee investigating January 6th will begin public hearings to uncover the truth of what led up to the attack on our country on January 6, 2021, demand accountability, and ensure this never happens again. 

Americans deserve to know the truth about the plot to overturn the election, and are deeply concerned about future attacks on our country. The hearings will lay out the case against Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican allies and ensure all Americans know the truth about the months leading up to January 6, the attack on our country that took place that day, and the ongoing plot to overturn the will of the people in future elections.

Below are five important facts to keep in mind before today’s hearing and in the weeks ahead:

1. Trump and His Allies Planned, Promoted, and Paid for the Conspiracy Culminating with the Violent Attacks on January 6

After months of trying to force state election officials to illegally overturn the results and send bogus electors to the Electoral College, Trump incited armed militants to launch the violent attack on January 6 to block certification of the election and keep himself in power. Trump’s political arm worked behind the scenes to plan the rally that led to the attack on our country, and his aides allowed the rally to proceed while knowing the event could get chaotic. 

Americans are deeply concerned with Trump threatening his own vice president and expressing support for the insurrectionists. And even after the violent chaos of January 6, 147 members of Congress voted to overturn the election Trump lost.

Trump “likely knew that right-wing lawyer John Eastman’s plan to throw out electoral votes was illegal” and nevertheless continued his campaign of overturning the election. In fact, the January 6 committee reportedly already has enough evidence to send a criminal referral of Trump to the Department of Justice.

2. Donald Trump and His Allies Engaged in a Criminal Conspiracy to Overturn the Election Before the First Votes Were Even Cast

From the earliest days of 2020 Trump and his allies began plotting to undermine the legitimacy of the election and overturn the results if they lost. They engaged in an open campaign to undermine the administration of the election, threatening the USPS and suing to block mail in voting. Trump even suggested that he would delay the election all together. GOP lawmakers were also heavily involved in plans to overturn the election.

Trump pointedly never committed to accepting the results of the election and a peaceful transition of power, and right wing threats of violence surged in the weeks before Election Day with Trump’s tacit approval. The plot was clearly criminal: a federal judge recently said “the illegality of the plan was obvious.” 

3. Americans Want and Deserve Accountability

Americans remember the violent attack on January 6th and the planning to overturn Joe Biden’s victory that incited it. They deserve to hear the full story of what happened. 66 percent of Americans believe U.S. democracy is threatened and 62 percent believe that there will be violence after the next presidential election. Over half of Americans want to see Trump held accountable for the events of January 6. 

Americans want to see members of Congress who encouraged and supported the attacks on January 6th held accountable in the following ways: by entering into the public record that they did something wrong; removing them from committees; barring them from office; and prosecuting them for a crime.

Americans would also solidly vote against members who were supportive of the attack on January 6th or who voted against certifying the election results. 

“The polling is clear: every group of voters was less likely to vote for someone who was supportive of these attacks,” said president of Lake Research Partners Celinda Lake.

4. The Plot to Take Away Our Right to Choose Who Leads Us Continues

Republicans in states across the country are seizing control of state and local election boards to give partisan conspiracy theorists the final say over election results in 2024 and passing law after law to restrict early and absentee voting.

They are criminalizing standard electoral activities like voter assistance and the distribution of water to voters waiting in line. The election conspirators are threatening election administrators with jail time or vigilante violence if they won’t go along with their plans and running dozens of big lie candidates for electoral administration positions ranging from precinct captain to secretary of state.

5. The January 6 Investigation is Fact-Based and Comprehensive, and the American People Deserve to Know the Truth

The attack on our country that took place on January 6, 2021 was the culmination of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. After the events of that day, Trump and his allies in Congress engaged in a cover-up and MAGA Republicans in states are set on sabotaging future elections.

The committee has conducted over 750 depositions and interviews and includes members of both parties. The committee hired a former U.S. attorney appointed by President Obama and a former U.S. attorney who also served in George W. Bush’s administration. 

The hearings will hold those responsible for the events of January 6 and this criminal conspiracy accountable. The evidence the committee will show is the product of a rigorous non-partisan investigation, led by career prosecutors that followed the facts and the law.

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