>> we are running behind schedule but expected to start shortly, the last of the meeting of the january 6 committee to present its findings. it has been reported they are also going to make criminal referrals to the justice apartment based on evidence from more than 1000 witnesses. some of those witnesses will be appearing today. they reminder if you missed any previous hearings are want to watch them again, visit our webpage, c-span.org/january6.

rep. thompson: a quorum being present, select committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol will be in order.

the chair is authorized to declare the committee in recess at any point. pursuant to house deposition authority regulation 10, the chair announces approval to release deposition material during today's meeting and its approval to release deposition material that accompanies release of the select committee's final report. good afternoon. may god bless the united states of america. the casting of a vote in the u.s. is an act of faith and hope. when we dropped that ballot in ballot box, we expect the people named on the ballot to uphold their end of the deal. the winner swears an oath and upholds it. those who come up short ultimately accept the results and abide by the rule of law. that faith in our system is the

foundation of american democracy. if the faith is broken, so is our democracy. donald trump broke that fate. you lost the 2020 election and a new it, but he chose to try to stay in office through a scheme to overturn the results and block the transfer of power. in the end, he summoned a mob to washington and knowing that there were armed and a great, pointed them to the capitol and told them to 'fight like hell." no doubt about that. my colleagues will present our key findings, reminding you of some of the information in earlier hearings and telling you how it fits in our broader conclusions. those conclusions have helped shape the final report, which we

will adopt today pursuant to house resolution 503, which establishes that established the select committee nearly a year and a half ago. i expect our work will be bound with the clerk and made public later this week. and that release, the select committee intends to make public the bulk of its nonsensitive records before the end of the year. these transcripts and documents will allow the american people to see the evidence we have gathered and continued to explore, the information that has led us to our conclusions. this committee is nearing the end of its work, but as a country, we remain in uncharted waters. we have never had a president of the united states stir up a violent attempt to block the transfer of power. i believed in the two years later that this is still a time

of reflection and reckoning. if we are to survive as a nation of law and democracy, this can never happen again. how do we stop it? this committee will lay out a number of recommendations in its report, but beyond any specific details, there is one factor that i believe is most important in preventing another january 6 -- accountability. today, beyond our findings, and we will also show that the evidence we have gathered points to further action beyond the power of this committee for the congress to help ensure accountability on the law. accountability that can only become in the commode justice system. we have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to

justice and that the agencies and institutions responsible for ensuring justice under the law will use the information we provide to aid their work. for those of you who have followed this committee's work, i hope we have helped make it clear that there is a broader kind of accountability, accountability to all the american people. the future of our democracy rests in your hands. it is up to the people of this country to decide who deserves public trust, who will put fidelity to the constitution and democracy above all else. who will abide by the rule of law no matter the outcome? i am grateful to the millions of you who followed this committee's work. i hope we lived up to our commitment to present the facts and let the facts speak for themselves. let me say in the women and men

seated around me are public servants in the most genuine sense. they have put aside politics and partisanship to ensure the success of this committee in providing answers to the american people. i especially want to thank and acknowledge our vice chair, who has become a true partner in this bipartisan effort, ms. cheney of wyoming. i also recognize her for any opening statement she would care to offer. rep. thompson: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your tremendous leadership. we have all benefited greatly from your wisdom and wise counsel. thank you. in april of 1861, when abraham lincoln issued the first call for volunteers for the union army, my great-great-grandfather, samuel cheney, joined the 21st ohio

volunteer infantry. he thought through all four years of the war -- of the civil war. he marched with his unit in the grand review of troops up pennsylvania avenue in may of 1865. silas canfield, regimental historian of the 21st ohio volunteer infantry, described the men in the unit this way -- he said they had a just appreciation for the value and advantage of free government and the necessity of defending and detaining it. and they in the prepared to accept all the necessary labors, fatigues, exposures, dangers, and even death for the unity of our nation and the perpetuity of our institution.

i have found myself thinking often, especially since january 6, of my great-great-grandfather and all those in every generation who had sacrificed so much for the unity of our nation and the perpetuity of our institutions. at the heart of our republic is a guaranty of the peaceful transfer of power. members of congress are reminded of this every day as we passed through the rotunda. there, 8 magnificent paintings detail the earliest phase of our public. one depicts the moment in 1793 when george washington resigned his commission, handing the control of the connell army back to congress. trumbull called this "one of the highest moral lessons several given the world." with this noble act, george

washington established the peaceful transfer of power in our nation. standing on the best front of the capitol in making a one, ronald reagan described it this way -- the orderly transfer of authority is called for in the constitution and routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and a few of us stop to think how unique we really are. in the eyes of many, this every four year ceremony that we accept is normal -- as normal is nothing less than a miracle. every president in our history has defended this transfer of authority accept what. -- one. january 6,2021 was the first time one american president refused his constitutional duty to transfer power peacefully. in our work, the select committee has recognized our obligation to do everything we can to ensure this never happens

again. at the beginning of our investigation, we understood that tens of millions of american had been persuaded by president trump that the 2020 election was stolen. we knew this was flatly false. we knew that dozens of judges had addressed and resolved all matters of allegations about the election. our legal system functioned as it should, but our president would not accept the outcome. among the most shameful of this committee's findings was that president trump sat in the dining room off the oval watching the violent riot at the capitol on television.for hours, he would not issue a public statement asking supporters to the, despite urgent pleas from his staff and others to do so. members of his family, white house lawyers, virtually all those around him that this

simple act was critical. four hours, he -- for hours, he would not do it. law enforcement agents were attacked and injured, the capitol was invaded, the electoral count halted, and lights were put at risk. in addition to being unlawful, this was an utter moral failure and a clear election of dating - - derelection of duty. evidence can be seen in the testimony of comes own white house counsel and other witnesses. note men who would behave that way at that moment can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. he is unfit for office. the committee recognizes that our work has only begun. it was only the initial step in addressing trump's efforts to

remain in office illegally. prosecutors are considering the occasions of the conduct we described in our report. as our citizens across our nation. in 1761, john adams wrote, the very ground of our liberties is the freedom of phone actions. -- is the faith in our elections. election deniers, those who refuse to accept lawful election results, purposefully attacked the rule of and the foundation of our country. the history of our time will show that the bravery of a handful of americans doing their duty saved us from an even more grave constitutional crisis. elected officials, election workers, and public servants stood against donald trump's corrupt pressure. many witnesses showed selfless patriotism and their words and

purge what we remembered. the great men and women of the capitol police come the metropolitan police, and all other law enforcement officers who fought to defend us that day saved lives and our democracy. and they, i wish to thank my colleagues on this committee. it has been a tremendous honor to serve with all of you. we have accomplished important things together and i hope we have set in the sample. i also want to thank those who have honorably contributed to the work of our committee and our report. we have accomplished match over a short period of time. many of you sacrificed for the good of our nation. you have helped make history, and i hope, helped to right the ship. i yield back. rep. thompson: as you know, this is our final meeting of our committee.

over the course of the last year and a half, we have presented evidence in 10 public hearings, testimony from braves law enforcement officers, senior white house, and campaign officials and many others. today, we are prepared to share our findings, but before we do so, it is important to remember what we have learned and, critically, exactly what happened on january 6. without objection, i include in the record a video presentation of some of the key evidence our investigation has uncovered. [video] >> there were officers on the ground. they were bleeding, throwing up.

i saw friends with blood on their faces. >> we were swarmed by a violent mob. they ripped off my badge, my radio and seized ammunition secured to my body. they begin to beat me with their fists and what felt like hard metal objects. >> the only thing to do is claim victory. >> you are wrong. >> f*** you. >> right out of the box on election night, the president claimed major fraud. that was before there was any potential evidence. >> i did not think but was happening was necessarily professional. >> the thing discussed on that topic was whether fraud

elements, abuse or irregularities were -- if aggregated, would that be outcome determining? everyone's assessment in the room was that it would not be outcome determinant. >> i told him that i did believe that once those legal processes were run, if fraud had not been established, that unfortunately, what had to be done was conceived. -- concede. >> what were the chances of president from the election? >> after that point? nine. >> i only need 11,000 votes. give me a break. >> the numbers are the numbers. the numbers do not lie.

we have many allegations and investigated every single one of them. >> did one make it, that they did not have evidence but theories? >> that was mr. giuliani. >> what did he say? >> he said, we have got lots of theories just not the evidence. >> you are asking me to do something that has never been done in the history of the united states. and i am going to put my state through that without sufficient proof? >> there is a tape earlier in the day from ruby freeman and jay freeman morris. they are passing around usb ports insisting they are piles of heroin or cocaine can -- cocaine. >> we just watched it mr. giuliani accuse you and your mother passing some for -- some

sort of usb drive. what was she actually handing you? >> a mint. >> new you know how it feels to have the president of the united states target you? the president of the united states is supposed to represent every american. he is not supposed to target one. >> i made it clear did not agree with the idea of saving the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, what i told the president was bulls***. >> if he thought the that he got the election have been stolen and was corrupt. i had told him that our reviews had not shown that to be the case. i said something like we have done dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews. the major allocations that

allegations are not supported by the evidence for -- evidence. >> my first thought was this is a terrible idea. >> you described it as being a murder suicide cap. do you remember using that term? >> yes. >> was it your impression that the vice president directly conveyed his position on these issues to the president, not just the world, but directly to present trump? >> many times. >> my view is that the vice president and not have the legal authority to do anything but what he did. >> i said i want to understand what you are saying. you are saying you believe the vice president, acting as president of the senate, can be the sole decision-maker as to

who becomes the next president? he said yes. i said, are you out of your mind? the president said all the attention was on what mike would or would not do. there is a telephone conversation between the president and vice president, correct? >> the conversation was heated. >> do you remember what her father called him? >> it was clear that is escalating. when mike pence tweeted, i remember i saying that was the net that should last step. >> it gives access to the second floor.

i have got crowds five feet from me for -- from me. >> you may want to consider getting out now. copy. >> numbers of the vp detail were starting to fear for their lives. they were calling family members to say goodbye. >> approximately 40 feet, that is all there was between the vice president and the mob. donald trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to american democracy. >> we got information suggesting that some very violent individuals were organizing to come to d.c. >> i spoke to giuliani and we were walking to his vehicle that evening. he said, are you excited for the

sixth? going to be a great day i remember asking him to explain. he responded something to the effect of where going to the capitol and it is going to be great. the president is going to be there and looked powerful. >> he personally asked us to come to d.c. that day. i thought for everything he has done for us, this is the only thing he is asking me and i will do it. >> basically, the president had done everybody around, told everybody to head on down, so he basically was just following what he said. >> within 15 minutes of leaving the state, president trump knew

the capitol was besieged and under attack. >> are you aware of any phone calls by the president of the united states to the secretary of defense that day? >> no. >> are you aware of any phone call from the president to the attorney general the day? >>. no. . >> are you aware of any phone call to the secretary of homeland security that day? >> no. >> was a request for law enforcement response? >> no. >> this not on the capitol of the united states of america. -- the assault on the capitol and the united states of america. >> i remember pat saying something like we need to do something more. they are literally calling for

the vice president to be hung. mark responded something the effect of, you heard him, pat, he does not think they are doing anything wrong. >> he did not want people to leave the capitol? >> i cannot think of anybody on that day who did not want people to get out and see the capitol [indiscernible] [indiscernible] >> she said the staff. >> i said in the white house. >> i apologize.

>> i cannot reveal communications. >> i said, good, john, now i am going to give you the best free legal advice you are ever getting, get a great criminal defense lawyer. you are going to need out. >> do you believe in the peaceful transition of power? >> another officer unconscious. >> i just want to say congress

has certified the results, without saying the election is over. ok? rep. thompson: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california for an opening statement. >> thank you. over the last 18 months, the select committee has connected an investigation of enormous scale, seeking to uncover the depth and breath of ex-president trump's plan to reverse the lawful outcome of the election. we have compiled an immense volume of documents selected from countless individuals, law enforcement agencies, federal and state authorities. many of our efforts to get the evidence required litigation in federal court, including the u.s. supreme court, who has

taken the testimony of hundreds of witnesses. well we could not show them all during the hearings, we focused on those who were most central, including our ex-president's what has aids, officials and senior members of his campaign. based on this evidence, the select committee has reached a series of specific findings. many of these pertain to what has been called the big lie, enormous efforts by trumpet to spread baseless accusations and miss information in an attempt to falsely convince tens of millions of americans that the election has been stolen. beginning even before the election and continuing through january 6 and after, donald trump purse possibly disseminated false allegations of fraud in order to aid his effort to overturn the 2020

election. the ex-president's decision to declare victory falsely on election night was premeditated. the committee has evidence that he planned to declare victory and told numerous allies about his intent in the weeks before the election. the committee found mr. trump raised hundreds of millions of dollars for his online donors. the proceeds of his fundraising have been used in ways we believe are concerning. in particular, the committee has learned that some of those funds were used to hire lawyers. we have also gained evidence of efforts to provide or offer employment to wednesdays. for example, one lawyer told the witness the witness could come

in certain certain thousands, tell the committee chief did not recall facts when she actually did. netware actually -- also -- that lawyer also did not disclose who is paying for their representation, despite questions seeking that information. he told her we are not coming people where funding is coming from right now. we have learned that a client was offered potential employment that would make her financially very comfortable as the data her testimony approached by entities a link donald trump. these offers were withdrawn or did not materialize as reports of the content of the testimony circulated. the witness believed this was an effort to affect testimony and we are concerned that these efforts may have been a strategy to prevent the committee from finding out the truth. throughout the postelection period, x -- ex-president was

told repeatedly that there was no evidence to support his claims election fraud. givens was last hearing, the select committee has obtained testimony from new witnesses who have come forward to tell us about their conversations with ex-president trump on this topic. here is one of his senior advisers. >> we had evidence of fraud on a scale that would have impacted the outcome of the election. i was becoming increasingly concerned that we were damaging his legacy. >> what did the president say in response? >> he said something along the lines of nobody will care about my legacy if i lose.

so that will not matter. the only thing that matters is winning. >> despite all that, he continued to maliciously make false claims, sometimes within a day of being told that a claim was false and unsupported by evidence. might be time the electoral college met on december 14, 2020, a number of trump's senior staff, cabinet officials, and members of his family were urging him to facilitate a peaceful transition of power. he disregarded their advice and continued to claim publicly that the election had been stolen. numerous courts evaluated and rejected the trump campaign's claims of voter fraud, including 11 judges appointed by

ex-president trump himself. many of these courts issued scathing opinions, criticizing the lack of evidence. numerous individuals associated with these efforts have since acknowledged that they were unable to find sufficient evidence found it to affect election results, including in testimony to this select committee. still, ex-president trump repeated those false claims and tried to convince his supporters the election was stolen. this was an attempt to justify overturning the lawful election results. donald trump knowingly repeated election fraud lines, which incited supporters to violence on january 6. he continues to repeat his meritless claims that the election was stolen even today and continues to erode our most cherished and shared belief in

free and fair elections. i yield back. rep. thompson: the chair recognizes the judgment from california, mr. schiff. >> thank you. building on his repetition of the big lie, president trump engaged in an effort to obstructed the joint session on january 6, the proceeding where his electrode walls should be certified. this begin in part in the states which ultimately determined winners of presidential elections. many state officials were targeted by trump and his campaign. the local election workers he accused baselessly of fraud, the state officials keep pressure to stop the count or find both that did not exist, and the state officials he urged to disregarded the will of the letters and their oath of office and name him the winner.

here are the select committee findings about the state pressure campaign. trump and his enablers repeatedly pressuring state officials to overturn the results of the election. the most dramatic example of this was the january 2, try try one call to georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger in which he urged him to "fin" 11,000 votes to change the outcome pair, again repeated conspiracy theories about the election and his own appointees and the department of justice comment that they had already debunked. trump already made what brad raffensperger considered a threat, suggesting that he and his attorney could be subject to criminal prosecution if they do not follow through with his demands.

then, in repeated telephone calls and in person meetings, donald trump pressured state election officials and legislatures to alter official election result. but courageous public servants held firm and refused to put donald trump over there and with to the constitution -- over their oath to the constitution. when trump's pressure campaign did not achieve the wanted results, he tried to submit false valves to congress and the national archives. these were created by fake republican electors on december 14 at the same time, the actual electors in those states were meeting to cast votes for president biden. by that point, election related litigation was over in nearly all of these estates and lawyers realized that deepfakes place

were unjustifiable on -- deepfake sites were unjustifiable on any grounds for next grounds. despite these concerns, trump and others proceeded with this plan. the select committee has developed evidence that these intentionally false documents were transmitted to multiple officers of the federal government and were intended to interfere with the proper conduct of the joint session, where a competing slate of electors would serve as a pretext to reject 11 -- legitimate votes. trump repeatedly attacked officials who refused to do his bidding, as well as local elections workers, who he basically -- basically as ruby and others demonstrated, the people who drew trumps higher --

ire faced public harassment and death threats. some of these workers and officials have been forced to leave their homes. others have been forced to leave jobs they left. take a listen to ms. freeman's story. >> i do not introduce myself by my name anymore. i get nervous when i bump into someone in the grocery store who says they are learning. i am worried about who's listening pair i get nervous when i have to give my name for food orders. i am always concerned of who's around me. i have lost my name and my reputation. >> the treatment of ms. freeman and her daughter and so many others was callous, inhuman, inexcusable, and dangerous.

those responsible should be held accountable. mr. chairman, i your back. rep. thompson: the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois.thank you >> -- thank you. certainly one of the many important components of justice. it is the body responsible for enforcing our laws and investigating criminal wrongdoing. for this reason, it is of the utmost importance that the department operate as a fair and neutral body that enforces federal laws without fear or favor. it is this critical function that president trump sought to correct. he thought to use the department of justice to investigate and prosecute purported election fraud and help him convince the

public that the election was stolen. the committee has made the following findings with respect to the department of justice. in the week immediately following the 2020 election, bill barr and the department of justice had not seen any evidence to support claims that the election was stolen. over the course of the three meetings in this postelection period, attorney general barr assured president trump that the justice department was properly investigating claims of election fraud. he debunked numerous election fraud claims, many of which the president would then repeat publicly. he made clear that president trump was doing a great disservice to the country by pursuing that. after attorney general barr's resignation, president trump requested that jeffrey rosen and

richard donoghue "just say the election was corrupt and leave it the rest to me and republican congressman." in other words, just tell a small light to put the facade of legitimacy on this lie and republican congressman and i can create doubt. between december 23 and january 23, president trump called or met with them nearly every day and was told repeatedly the department investigation showed no factual support for fraud allegations. mr. rozen and mr. donahue told him that the fraud claims were untrue. they continue to resist. comp then tried to install a loyalist named jeffrey clark into the department is acting attorney general. on several occasions, clark met with the president, apparently

along with representative scott perry. without authorization, they seemed to take the actions that bar, rosen, and richard donoghue refused to take. with the help of a political appointee at the urging with just weeks left in the straight, desk in the administration, mr. clark intended to send the letter to officials in numerous states, informing them falsely that the department had identified significant concerns about election results in their states and encouraging state legislatures to come into special session and consider appointing trump rather than fighting's electors -- biden's electors. >> he was drafting that is without knowledge of what the department had actually done. he was being reckless.

saying what you are proposing is nothing less than the united states department at length in the outcome of the election. >> knowing department leadership would not support his fold claims, president trump offered mr. clark the count. in a dramatic january 3 meeting in the office, rosen, donahue, pat cipollone and our personal strongly objected to jeffrey clark is acting attorney general. mr. clark pleaded his case and offered to send the letter he had drafted. the white house counsel called the clark letter a murder suicide pact. numerous lawyers threatened to resign if mr. clark was appointed. donald trump would be leading a graveyard. it was only after the threat of mass resignations that president trump rescinded his offer to mr. clark rep. thompson: the chair

recognizes the document from california. >> thank you. former president trump's multiparty plan did not stop with the states work with the department of justice. it touched nearly every component of our federal system, from the courts to congress and his vice president. in the weeks before january 6, mr. trump returned to the men who had served temporarily for four years. he embraced an equal -- an illegal scheme that the vice president could reject joe biden's electoral votes. when vice president pence and others, including trump's lawyer john eastman told him correctly that former president trump had spearheaded an unprecedented

campaign to coerce him to do it anyway, ultimately culminating in a dangerous threat to mr. pentz's life. these are the committees findings with respect to the pressure campaign against the vice president. john easterling admitted that mike pence could not lawfully refuse to count official electoral votes, but you nevertheless devised a meritless proposal that deployed a company should bogus fraud claims and fake electoral balance to say that mike pence could reject legitimate collateral for president-elect biden. but still, president trump accepted the theory and used it to pressure the vice president to take unlawful action. in multiple conversations,

president trump directly pressured pence to adopt the theory and either reject electors or send them to their state legislatures. the vice president repeatedly told the president he did not possess the authority to do what president directed. this, it in a reform golf on the morning of january 6 between trump and pence. during which the vice president repeatedly berated mike pence and made threats. here is one of the witnesses. take this into his testimony. >> did you hear any part of the phone call, even just the end of the president? >> i did. i remember hearing the word

"wimp." something to the effect of, i made the wrong decision four or five years ago. >> in the face of the vice president's resistance, the former and others exerted both private and public pressure to change his mind. in a speech on the lips on -- the ellipse on january 6, he said vice president pence needed the courage to do it had to do. once the right began, president trump issued a we attacking vice president pence, knowing the crowd had already grown violent. almost immediately thereafter, the crowd around the capitol searched and between 2:30 and 2:35 p.m., police lines on the west front of the capitol broke. this was the first time a line

like this had broken. writers at the capitol -- rioters at the capitol were heard chanting, "hang mike pence." pence was forced to flee. i yield back. rep. thompson: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. murphy, for an opening statement. >> ultimately, president trump did not succeed in bending state and federal officials to his will. at every turn, state officials, the department of justice, and others stood out for the rule of law and resisted wishes. -- the presidency wishes. in that weight, our institutions held, but that did not stop

president trump. instead, he turned to supporters who believed his lies about a stolen election he summoned a crowd to the capitol on january 6, hoping they would pressure congress to do what he cannot do on his on. they select committee has made the following findings on this issue. two years ago today, in the early morning hours of december 19, donald trump sent a tweet urging his supporters to travel to washington for a protest on january 6. "be there, will be wild," he tweeted. between december 19 and january 6, he encouraged supporters to come to washington. he galvanized domestic violent extremists, including the oath keepers, progress and organized militia groups. these individuals begin organizing to come to the capitol in a large numbers with the specific intent to use

violence to disrupt certification at the electric during the joint session. writer to january 6, -- prior to january 6, the fbi, secret service and other law enforcement agencies gathered substantial evidence suggesting the risk of violence during the growing session. these included warnings like the following -- their plan is to literally kill people. please, please take this seriously and investigate further. president trump's supporters have proposed a movement to occupy capitol hill. an alert regarding the vp being a dead man walking. there were several other alerts are saying they will storm the capital -- the capitol if he does not do the right thing. in the days leading up to january 6, president trump's advisors told him to encourage supporters to be peaceful, but he refused. hope hicks provided the

committee with records ever text messages on january 6. in one exchange, he texted, i know you are seeing this, but he, referring to president trump, should tweet something about being nonviolent. i am not there, hicks replied. i suggested it monday and tuesday and he refused when ms. hicks came in, re-ask her about this exchange. her explanation is that the "he " was not the president but it was our hirschman. take a listen. >> when you wrote i suggested it several times, it presumably means that the president should say something about being nonviolent, i suggested it several times monday and tuesday and he refused. tell us what happened. >> i did not speak to the president about this directly, but i communicated with people like eric hirschman that it was

my view that it was important that the president put out some kind of message in advance of the event. >> what was his response? >> mr. hirschman said he had made the same recommendation directly to the president and that he had refused. >> mr. hirschman said he had already recommended that the president convey a message that people should be peaceful on january 6 and the president refused? >> yes. >> the public will be able to review this in the transcripts and to see the perspective eric gave before hope hicks's testimony. president trump gave an incendiary speech, declaring without basis that the election had been stolen and encouraging

his supporters to "fight like hell." he stated his intention to travel to the capitol with supporters. the select committee has developed evidence indicating that president trump did in fact intend to go to the capitol on the afternoon of january 6, and that he repeatedly expressed that intention during the afternoon and in the >> the chair recognizes gentlewoman from virginia for an opening statement. >> thank you mr. jarman. all of trump efforts came to a head on the afternoon of january 6. president trump told thousands of angry supporters that the election was stolen and they had the power to change that if they marched to the capital and they wouldn't have a country anymore if the presidency was taken away

from him. he told them he would be there with them and then as the crowd descended on the capital president trump watched on television. despite pleas from the senior advisers, from lawmakers on the hill and his own children, president trump would not issue a public statement instructing his supporters to leave the capital. from 1:00 p.m. when his speech ended until 4:14 p.m. when he finally begrudgingly told his supporters to go home. for 187 minutes he actively disregarded his constitutional obligations to take care that the laws were executed. the mob wanted what president trump wanted, to impede the peaceful transition of power.

these are the select committee's findings about president trump. for several hours that followed the violence, people at the capital, people inside president trump's administration, elected officials of both parties, members of president trump's own family and fox news commentaries were sympathetic of president trump trying to contact the white house to urge him to do the one thing, all these people knew was required. instructing these people to leave the capital. the president refused as he watched the violence on television. during the day the president never spoke with the national guard, the department of defense or any law enforcement agencies. at no point during the day or any other did he inches -- did he issue any order to deploy any

law enforcement agencies. multiple agencies including president trump's counsel testified to these facts. the president was making phone calls that afternoon but they were not to law enforcement officials. president trump continued to call his lawyer rudy giuliani. both president and mr. giuliani spoke with congressional leaders even after the violence had begun to encourage the continued delay. after three hours of being informed of the violence at the capital, our evidence has shown donald trump watched the violence on television. the president released a video statement where he repeated the election was stolen, told his supporters at the capital that he lost and ultimately suggested

they disperse. the statement had an immediate impact on the crowd. many of whom testified it led them to the capital. at 6:01 p.m. president trump in his last tweet of the day did not contest the violence, instead he attempted to justify it. these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away, he wrote. "remember this day forever." president trump's message to the rally errors -- he minimized the seriousness of the attack. here is a testimony from one of president trump's senior advisor's kellyanne conway. >> you talked to the president

of the united states. it tell us about that statement. >> i said it was a terrible day. i am walking -- i am working on a statement. >> what did he say? >> people are very upset. >> in the days following the attack president trump expressed the desire -- involved in the attack. since then he said he would do so if you returns to the oval office. in summary, president trump lit the flame, poured gasoline on the fire and sat by in the white house dining room for hours watching the fire burn. today he still continues to fan those flames. mr. chairman, i yield back. >> chairwoman -- gentlewoman yields back. chairman recognizes the

gentleman from maryland with an opening statement. >> thank you mr. chairman for your extraordinary leadership of this organization. generous -- generations will praise you. several months ago you tasked several members and the subcommittee bring recommendations to the full committee to the department of justice and other authorities may find evidence of criminal and civil offenses that have come to our attention over the course of our investigation. we are now prepared to share those recommendations today. let me begin with relevant background considerations to our criminal referrals. the dangerous assault on the american cause it to sharon and democracy that took place on january 6, 2021 consisted of hundreds of individual criminal offenses. much crimes are already being prosecuted by the department of justice. we propose to the committee advancing referrals where the gravity of specific events,

severity of actual harm and this on an -- unlawful harm to speak. ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and the ringleaders get a free pass. our committee had the opportunity last spring to present much of our evidence to a federal judge. something that distinguishes our investigation from any other congressional investigation i can recall. in the context of resolving evidence for issues related to the crime fraud doctrine and the eastman case, u.s. district court judge examined a small subset of our evidence to determine whether it shows the likely commission of a federal offense. the judge concluded that former president donald trump and john eastman likely violated two

criminal statutes. this is the starting point to our analysis today. the first group we invoked a referral title 15 seven c which makes it unlawful for anyone to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding of the united states government. the evidence described by my colleagues today and assembled throughout our hearings warrants a criminal referral of former president donald j. trump, john eastman and others for violations of the statute. the whole purpose and obvious effect of trump's scheme were to obstruct, influence and impede this official proceeding. the central moment for the

transfer of power in the united states. second, we believe there is more than sufficient evidence to refer former president donald j. trump, john eastman and others for violating title 18 section 371. this statute makes it a crime to conspire to defraud the united states. in other words to make an agreement to impair, obstruct or defeat the lawful function of the united states government by deceitful or dishonest maintenance -- dishonest means. the former president entered into agreements formal and informal with several individuals who assisted him with his criminal objectives. our report describes in detail the action of numerous co-conspirators who agreed with and participated in trump's plan

to impair, obstruct and defeat the certification of president biden's electoral victory. the subcommittee does not attempt to determine all the potential participants in this conspiracy. our understanding of the role of many individuals may be incomplete even today because they refuse to answer our questions. we trust the department of justice will be able to inform a far more complete picture through its own investigation. third, we make the referral based on title 18 section 1001 which makes it unlawful to knowingly and willfully make materially false statements of the federal government. the evidence suggests president trump conspired with others to submit flights of fake electors in the national archive. this evidence set forth in our report is more than sufficient

for a criminal referral of former president donald j. trump and others in connection with this offense. we don't try to determine all of the co-conspirators in this conspiracy, many who refused to answer our questions while under old. we trust the department of justice will be able to form a more complete picture through its own investigation. the fourth and final statute we invoked for referral is title 18 section 2383. the statute applies to anyone who incites or engages in insurrection against the united states of america and anyone who gives aid or comfort to an insurrection. in insurrection is a rebellion against the authority of the united states. it is a grave federal offense anchored in the constitution itself which repeatedly opposes domestic violence and adheres

insurrection as automatic grounds from ever holding public office again at the federal or state level. anyone who incites others to engage in rebellion, assists them in doing so or gives aid and comfort to those engaged in the insurrection is guilty of a federal crime. the committee believes that more insufficient evidence exists for a criminal referral of former president trump for assisting or aiding and comforting those at the capital who engaged in a violent attack of the united states. the committee has developed significant evidence that president trump intended to disrupt the peaceful transition of power under our constitution. the president has an affirmative and primary constitutional duty to take care that the laws be

faithfully executed. nothing can be a greater betrayal than to assist and insurrection against the constitutional order. the complete factual basis for this referral is set forth in detail throughout our report. these are not the only statutes potentially relevant to president trump's conduct related to the 2020 election. pending on evidence developed either department of justice the president's actions trigger other criminal violations. nor are president and his immediate team the only people identified. as part of our investigation we asked multiple members of congress to speak to us. it is critical to our understanding of this attack on the 2020 election and our system of constitutional democracy. none agreed to provide that information. as a result we took significant steps of issuing them subpoenas based on the volume of information.

one or more parts of president trump's plan to overturn the election, none of the subpoenaed members complied. we are now referring for members of congress for appropriate sanctions by the house ethics committee for failure to comply with lawful subpoenas. we understand the gravity of every referral we are making today just as we understand the magnitude of the crime against democracy that we described in our reports. we have gone with the facts and inescapably the law leads us here. i ask the chairman be directed to transmit the department of justice relevant select committee records in furtherance of these criminal referrals. >> without objection, so ordered. >> thank you mr. chairman.

i now yield back. >> gentleman yields back. i now call up select committee final report pursuant to section four a of house resolution 503. the court's shall designate the report. >> final report to investigate the january 6 attack on the united states capital. >> without objection the report will be considered red and open to amendment at this point. i now recognize the gentlewoman from virginia for a motion. >> i move that the committee report to the house the select committee final report which includes the committee legislative recommendation and criminal referral of donald j. trump and others in section four a of house resolution 503.

>> the question is on the motion to favorably report to the house. those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. the 'ayes'have it. the clerk will call the roll. >> liz cheney? >>aye. >> mr. schiff? >>aye. >> mr. regular? >>aye. >> misses murphy? >> aye. >> misses gloria? >> aye. >> mr. kissing her? mr. kissinger?

>> aye. >> mr. chairman? >> aye. >> on this vote there are nine aye's and zero no's. >> staff is authorized to make any technical informing changes to the report to reflect the actions of the committee. the chair instructs the committee to remain seated. there will be no further hearings without objective. select committee stands adjourned. [applause]

>> our criminal referrals were based on the gravity of the

offense, the centrality of the actors and the evidence we had available to us. there were undoubtably other people involved, but a lot of people refused to come and testify, refusing to give us information they have. we chose to advance the names of people where we felt certain that there was abundant evidence they had participated in crimes. it is not the exclusion of anyone. if you read the report you will see there are a number of other people named. that is ultimately up to the department of justice. >> will you guys be filling in the blank of "others"??

>> the others will be named in our report. we want the department of justice to pursue with charges. these were people where evidence exists that they engaged in criminal offenses against the country. >> what do you see as the legacy of your committee? >> our committee is now, we just had our last meeting five minutes ago. i don't know what our legacy is going to be. i hope our legacy will be an unswerving devotion to the rule of law, and the constitution. we were charged with an event radically unique in the country's history. no one had come so close to overthrowing a presidential election. our greatest legacy would be one

that is certified by time. that we never encounter anything like this again and we keep the progress the -- and we keep the progress of american democracy moving. seditious conspiracy has been charged with oath keepers, the proud boys. there is a rigorous factual proof about legal elements that are there. we brought more of those offenses where we thought it is clear where criminal conduct took place. it is not the exclusion of others. it is very possible the department of justice would have further evidence that could support charges of judicious conspiracy.

judicious conspiracy was not one of the offenses. one of the ones that is mentioned there. >> there is a few days left of the democratic majority. what is the thinking behind now and the totality of the committees recommendation as well as the ethics committee? what is the thinking in waiting behind the very end of the democrats house in majority? >> we have been in the process of collecting all the evidence we can and we have been moving as quickly as possible. the legislative recommendation we set forward are things that can be undertaken by this

congress and we are all determined to see that we do. >> and your executive summary you mentioned there are a number of things you found where the former president tried to influence witnesses how many instances did you find of that in terms of him making phone calls to witnesses about the testimony? >> i don't know the exact number. the ones i am aware of appear in the executive summary. >> the committee plans to provide this raw material to the executive authority. >> we adopted the motion to have the chairman send it over. i imagine it will happen quickly. a few more days of business, it will certainly happen.

>> our staff has been in contact with the justice department and made requests along the way. we expect the evidence will begin wednesday at with exhibit transcripts to the public as well as the justice department. >> we are not allowed to comment on any particular witness but we have raised concern of the credibility of witnesses in general as well as the role some of the lawyers representing the former president's interest may have played in trying to influence testimony. we will let that evidence speak

to itself but we want to put that evidence before the public. >> you guys referred four members of congress as well as kevin mccarthy, why only these four? >> the focus was essentially placed on their contempt of the committee, contempt of congress failing to show up when they received wrongful subpoenas. we did not choose to make referrals based on the underlying conduct but rather on the open and shut failure to comply with the subpoena. >> the justice department could potentially bring them in? rep. schiff: the broader point we are trying to make, we have subpoenaed a number of members,

not just congress who have refused to comply with the subpoenas. it would have taken us years to litigate to try to defeat the assertion of privileges. the dusters -- the justice department can move much more quickly. we were batting about 50% when we made a criminal referral for contempt in terms of what the department prosecutes. they can move more swiftly if it appears based on the reports. they have moved more swiftly and obtained testimony for people who have refused to cooperate with us. none of us know what the character of that testimony is, the long, short of it is they possess evidence we don't have

and the cumulative impact for justice with those that have broken the law. >> the department of justice has their own report -- how is that not a focus of this report of this investigation? rep. schiff: it has been a focus of our investigation. material releasing later this week on that very issue, the nature of the intelligence that agencies have whether it was shared or not shared, agreements acted upon or not acted upon, the coordination or lack of coordination with law enforcement. >> did the committee come across any testimony that further corroborated kassidy hudson's testimony about the story she overheard about the former president secret service detail?

rep. schiff: testimony bears on the present -- the president -- the former president -- how they were judged when they view the transcript. who among the witnesses they give the most credibility two. i found hutchinson's testimony to be entirely credible and i will use it to assess the other witnesses based on that transcript. >> did any of the -- did any other witnesses commit perjury? rep. schiff: i have questions about the testimony we received but i will leave it to the justice department to make those decisions. >> do you think the justice department should follow up on what you mentioned about witnesses potentially being offered lucrative positions ahead of their testimony? rep. schiff: i think the justice

department should weigh all the evidence we have provided and seek to obtain their own evidence about efforts to influence testimony before congress and whether that crossed the line. on the issue of our criminal referrals, as that the beginning of the investigation into january 6, that there was one standard one rule of law for everyone. that is our sense of the law as well, our sins of justice. as we indicated in our criminal referral that donald j. trump, there was evidence he violated multiple criminal laws. if the justice department concurs with that assessment with the evidence then he should be prosecuted like any other american. no one should get a pass. the day we start giving passes

to presidents or former president's or people of power is the day we can say this was the beginning of the end of our democracy. we hope that while a criminal referral from congress doesn't carry legal weight, the department is not obligated to follow our recommendations, we hope the evidence we presented and the way we presented how it meshed will be taken seriously by the department of justice. thank you very much. [indiscernible] >> hearing from members of the

january 6 committee after their last public meeting of the u.s. capitol attack. the committee choosing to make criminal referrals to the justice department against former president donald trump for obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the federal government, conspiracy to make a false statement and for inciting, aiding or assisting an insurrection. there were other referrals made to the house ethics committee against lawmakers who failed to comply with subpoenas. our coverage of the january 6 committee and all c-span programming has been brought to you as a public service the cable industry and these television providers including comcast, charter communications. if you missed any of our coverage today we will be showing this last public hearing of the committee meeting shortly. we will be showing the entire meeting