January 6 committee news – latest: Trump cancels anniversary speech as Sean Hannity’s texts revealed - The Independent

Liz Cheney says Trump ignored Ivanka's calls to stop Capitol riot

Donald Trump has canceled a press conference scheduled for 6 January at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol mounted by his supporters.

The former president blamed the "total bias and dishonesty" of the "Fake News Media" as well as the House panel investigating the assault, which released several text messages from Fox News personality Sean Hannity to the former president's then-chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days surrounding the attack.

Documents recently published by the committee also reveal how the former president's allies planned a campaign to intimidate election officials and spread voter fraud falsehoods, while another appeared to call for the seizure of "evidence" in service of his false claims that propelled the attack and his spurious bid to overturn election results.

In recent weeks, the commi ttee has accelerated its probe into the attack, fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and a violent attempt to reject the votes of millions of Americans.

On Thursday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks to mark one year since the attack. At the Capitol, lawmakers will hold a memorial service.

Show latest update 1641377408Lindsey Graham 'takes credit' for Trump cancelling 6 January anniversary speech

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is taking credit for getting former president Donald Trump to cancel his scheduled press conference on the anniversary of the Capitol Hill insurrection.

The senator said that he was among several people, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who urged Mr Trump to cancel the event.

Mr Graham is a close aide of the former president. He told Axios that he "discussed the subject with Mr Trump over a weekend golf match in West Palm Beach".

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Eleanor Sly5 January 2022 10:10

1641375455Ask The Independent's senior US correspondent anything about 6 January Capitol riot

Our US correspondent Richard Hall will be on hand to answer all your questions about the Capitol riot in an 'Ask me Anything' event on Wednesday, 5 January.

He will be answering live in the comments section below between 3pm and 4pm GMT (10am and 11am EST).

Register to submit your question in the comments box of the article here:

Eleanor Sly5 January 2022 09:37

1641371459'It's gonna leave a scar': Capitol Police and staffers still traumatised a year after Jan 6

When the Covid-19 pandemic forced Congress to shutter the US Capitol to most visitors and send most legislative staff home to work remotely, a core group of essential workers didn't have that option.

Even without the hustle and bustle attendant to the thousands of tourists, lobbying groups and staff members who make their way through the labyrinthine corridors and grand lobbies of the Capitol on a normal non-pandemic day, there were still entrances to be guarded, food to be served, bills to be filed and debates to be had.

This meant that for the police, service workers, and nonpartisan staff who keep the complex running, the show had to go on. And so when it came time for Congress to meet in its quadrenni al joint session to certify the presidential election results, they showed up for work. They were at their posts when a pro-Trump mob hoping to disrupt that session perpetrated what would be the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814.

Eleanor Sly5 January 2022 08:30

1641368545Donald Trump calls off Jan 6 anniversary speech in Mar-a-Lago after Hannity texts revealed

Donald Trump has canceled his press conference to commemorate the 6 January Capitol riot, which the former president planned to hold at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Mr Trump's change of plans comes after the special congressional committee investigating the insurrection released a series of texts from Fox News host Sean Hannity, who texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows his concerns over the violence at the Capitol and raised doubts on Mr Trump's election fraud claims.

In one text message sent on 5 January 2021, Mr Hannity wrote that he was "very worried" about the next 48 hours. In another, sent a few days earlier, he wrote: "I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told."

Eleanor Sly5 January 2022 07:42

1641364566Senator Brian Schatz warns of continued threat to US democracy

Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) said on Tuesday that the attacks on the US Capitol were an "attempted overthrow of American democracy."

Warning against the "continued threat" to the country, he said: "A year ago, there was an attempted overthrow of American democracy right here in this building. We came perilously close to losing everything that night. Police officers were maimed and killed. Custodial workers and Senate staffers were hiding, with zero protection."

He added: "One year later, and I'm even more worried now."Mr Schatz continued: "If we take a moment and we realise what's at stake, we will realise what is required… It will require citizens to understand that democracy in this country is not what we have, it is what we do, and it is never, ever guaranteed."

The senator emphasised that "authoritarians rarely give up. And we know that they aren't doing their preparation for the next coup in hiding. They are doing it all in plain sight and they must be stopped."

Maroosha Muzaffar5 January 2022 06:36

1641363244House Republicans to release their own report on 6 January

House Republicans are preparing their own report on the events of 6 January to counter the House select committee's report, Axios reported.

Republican representative from Indiana, Jim Banks, is allegedly preparing the report.

Sources quoted by Axios said that Mr Banks will share a "separate investigation from House Republicans" and will also circulate a memo describing Nancy Pelosi's committee as "illegitimate."

Mr Banks is also supposed to tell House Republicans that GOP leadership staff have been "conducting their own interviews with Capitol Police, their union and othe r officials to focus on the security failures that allowed the Capitol breach."

He has told other Republicans that they "will produce their own report documenting failures of preparation, activation on intelligence and inadequate equipment for Capitol Police."

Maroosha Muzaffar5 January 2022 06:14

1641360623Domestic extremism shifted in the US after 6 Jan, report reveals

A report by Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab revealed that a year after the 6 January riots, "domestic extremist movements have evolved and adapted their strategies, infrastructure, and messaging."

The report found that "despite an initial decline, domestic extremist groups have evolved and resurfaced, encouraging local action while recruiting and spreading their messages through culture-war debates including vaccines, race and education."

Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab — and the author of the new report titled "Aft er the Insurrection" — says that "the domestic extremist landscape was battered by Jan. 6. But extremism is dynamic and fluid. It is always trying to adapt to fit the container that it's in."

The report notes that "domestic extremist threats include groups and individuals whose racial, ethnic, or religious hatred leads them toward violence" and those who incite "imminent violence in opposition to legislative, regulatory, or other actions taken by the government," including self-proclaimed militias, "sovereign citizen" movements, and others promoting fringe ideological grievances.

Maroosha Muzaffar5 January 2022 05:30

1641358999House Select Committee wants to hear from Mike Pence directly

Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee investigating the 6 January riots said that the committee wants to hear from former vice president, Mike Pence, directly.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Thompson said: "I would hope that he would do the right thing and come forward and voluntarily talk to the committee."

However, he added that the committee has not officially asked Mr Pence to speak with them but added "if he offered, we'd gladly accept. Everything is under consideration."

"I think it's important that the public needs to know this was the no. 2 person in government. And for our President, at that time, to take 187 minutes to say the rioters you need to stop and go home because my vice president is in the building and his life is in danger is an absolute shame," Mr Thompson added.

Maroosha Muzaffar5 January 2022 05:03

1641356623Trump says he is expecting 'big crowd' on 15 January in Arizona

After Donald Trump cancelled a press conference he was scheduled to address on the anniversary of the Capitol Hill riots, he said that he is expecting a "big crowd" on his next appearance on 15 January in Arizona.

In a statement, Mr Trump said: "In light of the t otal bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am cancelling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona—It will be a big crowd!"

He continued: "What has become more and more obvious to ALL is that the LameStream Media will not report the facts that Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Sergeant-at-Arms denied requests for DC National Guard or Military to be present at the Capitol. Their emails and correspondence with the Department of Defense exist, but the media won't ask for this evidence, or report the truth!"

Several Republican leaders said that the cancellation of the press conference by Trump was not a good idea.

Maroosha Muzaffar5 January 2022 04:23

1641355258From the QAnon Shaman to zip-tie guy: The most notable Capitol rioters and what happened to them

Among the more than 700 people arrested in connection with the Capitol insurrection, a few names and faces stand out. The Independent's Andrew Naughtie catches up with their cases:

Alex Woodward5 January 2022 04:00