Jan. 6 committee holds seventh hearing

By Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 6:59 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

What we covered here

In its seventh public hearing, the Jan. 6 committee investigating the insurrection zeroed in on the connection between Trump and extremist groups as the mob came together.
The committee showed Trump and his allies interacted with these violent groups. Evidence also showed some of the rally organizers even expressed concern about the event and the people gathering in Washington.
The panel heard live testimony from a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers and another person who participated in the riot as well as clips of the deposition of former White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
While the panel can’t bring legal charges against Trump, its central mission has been to uncover the full scope of his attempt to stop the transfer of power and connect his efforts to the violence at the Capitol. The Justice Department would ultimately need to be the one to decide whether to bring criminal charges.

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about today's hearing in the posts below.

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6:54 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Here are the key takeaways to know from the Jan. 6 committee's seventh public hearing

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol just wrapped up its seventh public hearing.

The committee focused on the role of extremist groups and how the violent mob came together. The hearing explored the Trump administration's connections to these groups, such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, ahead of the riot.

Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers, and Stephen Ayres, who participated in the insurrection, testified. The hearing also featured clips from the deposition of former White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

Here are the key takeaways:

Trump’s Dec. 19 tweet: Trump’s December tweet urged his followers to come to Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, 2021 for a “wild” and “big” protest. The tweet attracted some of his most extreme supporters, including followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, White supremacists and other proponents of violence, according to witness interviews released by the committee. A former Twitter employee also testified that he was concerned that Trump seemed to be talking directly to extremists, but remained unchecked on the platform.
Planning for the march: Trump planned days ahead of Jan. 6, 2021, to tell his supporters to march to the US Capitol from his rally on the National Mall, according to an unsent tweet intended for Trump's account. The committee used the tweet to show how the former President and his advisers were interested in sending crowds to Capitol Hill. Lawyers for Trump since the Jan. 6 attack have tried to argue his encouraging supporters to walk to the Capitol was political speech, and that he was not in control of the crowd nor responsible for the riot at the Capitol. "The evidence confirms that this was not a spontaneous call to action, but rather was a deliberate strategy decided upon in advance by the President," Rep. Stephanie Murphy said.
Concerns about plans: A text message between a key organizer of the Jan. 6 rally and a top Trump ally — Kylie Kremer and Mike Lindell respectively — shows Kremer was concerned about making public well-established plans for a march from the Ellipse to the Capitol. “It can also not get out about the march because I will be in trouble with the national park service and all the agencies but POTUS is going to call for it ‘unexpectedly,’” she wrote to Lindell. Separately, Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager, privately said on Jan. 6, 2021, that Trump was “asking for civil war” and that he felt “guilty for helping him win,” according to text messages.
Roger Stone and extremist groups: The committee zeroed in on Roger Stone’s connections to the far-right organizations, saying that “leaders in both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers worked with Trump allies.” Figures in Trump’s circle, including Roger Stone and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, hired the Oath Keepers as private security details and rallied with the Proud Boys, Raskin said. Stone also used encrypted chats to communicate with the leaders of both groups, according to the committee.
Conceding the election: In clips from Cipollone’s deposition, he agreed with other Trump officials that there was not sufficient evidence of election fraud. Cipollone specifically testified that he believed Trump should've conceded the election. Many other Trump White House officials shared the view that once the litigation on alleged voting fraud ended and the Electoral College met, the election was over — including Ivanka Trump and former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

Read more takeaways here.

4:51 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Oath Keepers leader shipped tactical gear to rally organizer before the riot, Jan. 6 committee says

From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz

The House select committee said Tuesday it has evidence that Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, shipped thousands of dollars worth of tactical gear to a Jan. 6 rally planner in Virginia before the attack.

The details of the shipment have not previously been alleged, though the Justice Department has claimed that Rhodes allegedly bought an AR-platform rifle and other firearms equipment, including sights, mounts, triggers, slings, and other firearms attachments and equipment on his way to Washington, DC.

The committee did not identify the rally organizer, nor did they specify what kind of tactical gear Rhodes allegedly sent.

Rhodes’ attorney denied the allegation to CNN, saying there has been no evidence that Rhodes shipped tactical gear to anybody before or after the riot.

Rhodes has been charged with seditious conspiracy by the Justice Department and has pleaded not guilty.

5:00 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Clips from Pat Cipollone's closed-door interview were shown at today's hearing. Here are the key moments.

From CNN's Sam Woodward

A video of Pat Cipollone's testimony is shown on a screen during a public hearing in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. (Doug Mills/Pool/Reuters)

Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone testified for eight hours in front of the House Jan. 6 Committee on Friday in a closed-door interview. Here are some key moments of his testimony played at the committee's seventh hearing on Tuesday.

He did not think there was sufficient evidence of election fraud: In his testimony, Cipollone said he agreed with former Attorney General Bill Barr, who concluded there was insufficient evidence of election fraud. He recounted former chief of staff Mark Meadows saying in November 2020 that then-President Trump should have conceded, to which he said he agreed. Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump, told the committee that Cipollone called John Eastman's theory to overturn the election "nutty." Cipollone did not refute this statement.

He was verbally attacked during the Dec. 18, 2020 meeting at the White House. Cipollone told the committee he walked into the Dec.18 meeting attended by Trump, former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, none of which, he said, he was "happy to see."

The meeting, which lasted six hours, was described as “unhinged” by former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson after hearing screaming coming from the West Wing. Ideas circulated about overturning the election including Flynn's suggestion to invoke martial law and inspection of voting machines.

“I don’t think any of these people were providing the President with good advice,” Cipollone told the committee.

After asking where the evidence was for claims of voter fraud, Cipollone said that he and Meadows were verbally attacked for questioning where the evidence for Trump’s falsely claimed victory came from. Cipollone told the committee the group responded with “general disregard for wanting to back up claims with facts.”

In addition to floating claims of voter fraud and plots to overturn the election, Cipollone described his opposition to Trump’s suggestion of naming Powell as a special counsel to investigate voter fraud in the 2020 election. "I was vehemently opposed — I didn't think she should be appointed to anything," Cipollone told the committee during his closed-door interview, according to a video clip from that meeting played Tuesday.

He thought it was a “terrible idea” for the President to follow a plan to seize election machines: A proposal for the federal government to seize election machines was "a terrible idea," Cipollone told the committee.

“That's not how we do things in the United States. There's no legal authority to do that," Cipollone said.

4:33 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Cheney: Committee informed DOJ that Trump attempted to contact a witness not yet seen in hearings

From CNN's Alex Rogers, Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez and Tierney Sneed

Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee, said former President Donald Trump attempted to contact a witness who has not yet been publicly identified.

“After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings,” Cheney saidat the end of the House select committee hearing on Tuesday. “That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump's call, and instead alerted their lawyer to the call. Their lawyer alerted us. And this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice.”

As notable as Cheney's revelation is, she also raises the possibility that the incident could prompt interest from Justice Department prosecutors.

This is the first time the committee has explicitly described providing information to the Justice Department that they discovered during their probe.

However, it's not the first public suggestion of witness tampering the committee has made. Previously, the committee noted two incidents where their star witness Cassidy Hutchinson received messages about being loyal to Donald Trump. It should be noted that making a call isn’t witness tampering in and of itself.

Those, however, weren't from Trump himself — and Trump's personal involvement raises the stakes if the message was intended to impact a witness' testimony.

Cheney didn't disclose the substance of it.

It's still not clear how the committee communicated the information to the Justice Department, and whether it could be considered a criminal referral.

The Justice Department hasn't responded to CNN's request for comment.

4:27 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Rioter shakes hands with officers who defended US Capitol during Jan. 6 riot after hearing

Stephen Ayres, third from right, shakes hands with US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, left, after the House select committee hearing on July 12. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Capitol rioter Stephen Ayres shook hands with officers who defended the US Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection after Tuesday's hearing.

Ayres could be seen shaking hands with former DC Metropolitan Police Officers Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges and US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino A. Gonell.

4:11 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

The hearing has ended

From CNN staff

The House Jan. 6 select committee's seventh hearing just wrapped up.

Committee vice-chair Liz Cheney said the next public hearing will zero in on what former President Donald Trump and his team were doing on Jan. 6, 2021, and specifically while the insurrection was going on.

"For multiple hours, Donald Trump refused to intervene to stop it. He would not instruct the mob to leave or condemn the violence. He would not order them to evacuate the Capitol and disperse," Cheney said.

She said the committee will also show that members of Congress and his own staff pleaded with the former President to help. Cheney said the hearing will walk through the events of Jan. 6 "minute by minute."

The committee's next hearing will be next week. It will be aired live on CNN and a livestream will be featured on CNN.com without requiring a login. CNN's special coverage of the hearing will stream live on the CNN app, and live coverage with updates will be on CNN.com and cnnespanol.cnn.com.

3:56 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Rep. Raskin says American carnage is Trump's "true legacy" after Jan. 6 insurrection

From CNN's Clare Foran

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said in closing remarks at today's hearing that "American carnage" is former President Trump's "true legacy" in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

"American carnage, that's Donald Trump's true legacy. His desire to overthrow the people's election and seize the presidency interrupted the counting of Electoral College votes for the first time in American history, nearly toppled the Constitutional order, and brutalized hundreds and hundreds of people," Raskin said.

"The Watergate break in was like a Cub Scout meeting compared to this assault on our people and our institutions," Raskin said.

Raskin was making reference to a now-famous line from a speech Trump gave in which he invoked the concept of "American carnage."

3:55 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Rep. Raskin: US Capitol police officer forced to quit due to Jan. 6 injuries

US Capitol Police sergeant Aquilino Gonell has been forced to quit policing due to injuries sustained during the Jan. 6 attack, Rep. Jamie Raskin said during today's hearing.

Gonell was in the audience for today's hearing and grew emotional as Raskin described how the police officer's injuries that day ended his career.

"Last month, on June 28, a team of doctors told him that permanent injuries he has suffered to his left shoulder and right foot now make it impossible for him to continue as a police officer. He must leave policing for good and figure out the rest of his life," Raskin said.

According to Raskin, Gonell, who is an Iraq War veteran and testified to the committee after the Jan. 6 attack, told them that "nothing he ever saw in combat in Iraq prepared him for the insurrection, where he was savagely beaten, punched, pushed, kicked, stomped, and sprayed with chemical irritants along with other officers. By members of a mob carrying hammers, knives, batons, and police shields taken by force. And wielding the American flag against police officers as a dangerous weapon."

4:08 p.m. ET, July 12, 2022

Former Oath Keeper concerned Trump could try to "whip up a civil war" if he is elected again

A former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers, an extremist group, says it is "exceedingly lucky that more bloodshed did not happen."

Jason Van Tatenhove said the potential for more violence "has been there from the start," adding that he is worried about the next election. He said as tragic as it is that some people were killed during the insurrection, including law enforcement officers, "the potential was so much more."

"All we have to look at is the iconic images of that day with the gallows set up for Mike Pence. For the Vice President of the United States," Van Tatenhove said.

Looking ahead, he said he doesn't know what the next election might bring, but he is worried that if former President Donald Trump runs again in 2024, he will try to "whip up a civil war amongst his followers using lies and deceit."

“What else is he going to do if he gets elected again? All bets are off at that point," he added, saying that he is worried about the world his daughters and granddaughter will inherit if people are not held accountable.

Former Oath Keepers spokesperson Jason Van Tatenhove says he fears for the next election cycle. Hear him explain why: