Trump 'chose not to act' as mob attacked, says January 6 committee

By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington [US], July 22 (ANI): The January 6 select committee's latest public hearing on Thursday (local time) said that then US President Donald Trump chose not to intervene as a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol.

Adam Kinzinger, one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol said, "President Trump did not fail to act, he chose not to act."

The Thursday primetime hearing focused on what happened during the 187 minutes between Trump's speech, during which he encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol, and when he put out a video urging them to go home.

"Trump sat in his dining room and watched the attack on television while his senior-most staff, closest advisers and family members begged him to do what is expected of any American president", Congresswoman Elaine Luria said during the hearing.

"President Trump refused to act because of his selfish desire to stay in power," she added.

The nine-member committee, which is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans, said they confirmed through interviews that Trump did not call senior law enforcement or military leaders, Vice President Mike Pence's staff or Washington government officials to issue orders or offer assistance during the riot.

The committee also played newly-released outtakes from a Donald Trump speech filmed the day after the Capitol riot.

The former President is repeatedly seen refusing to read the lines in the script given to him that say "the election is over".

"I don't want to say the election is over," Trump is seen telling his staff. "I just want to say Congress has certified the results." He also refused to say that rioters broke the law. "I can't say that," he says.

Several witnesses with first-hand knowledge of what was happening inside the White House on Jan. 6. Sarah Matthews, a former Trump deputy press secretary, testified that Trump could have made a statement to Americans and stopped the violence "almost instantly" if he wanted to. She also testified that Trump was resisting sending a message of peace to rioters.

Matthew Pottinger, a former White House security official, told the House January 6 committee that Donald Trump's refusal to accept the 2020 presidential election played into the hands of the United States' adversaries.Pottinger, who served as Trump's deputy national security adviser, told the probe Thursday, that any presidential transition is a "time of vulnerability" even "under the best circumstances."

The committee announced that it will reconvene for three more hearings in September. (ANI)

Source: WORLD