House Republicans largely dismissed the Jan. 6 select committee’s prime-time hearing on Thursday evening, with many saying they opted against tuning in and others arguing that they don’t believe it provided any new information that would sway public opinion.
The hearing, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), featured testimony from Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who gave a harrowing account of the events that took place and the injuries she incurred during the Capitol riot, and documentarian Nick Quested, who followed the Proud Boys ahead of and during the attack. Clips of the violence that took place and depositions from members of former President Donald Trump’s inner circle, including senior aides and family members, stating they do not believe the election was stolen and the former president was informed of its legitimacy were also featured.
SIX NOTABLE MOMENTS FROM THE HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE’S PRIME-TIME HEARING
Trump allies were quick to slam the proceedings on social media and on right-leaning cable news shows, alleging that the panel was “selectively editing” video and a “partisan witch hunt.”
“The Selectively Edited Committee!” Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (R-IN) tweeted during the hearings. Banks was slated to be a Republican member of the Jan. 6 panel until House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said members of his conference would not participate.
Sources close to the committee dismissed the accusation, asserting the comments aired from depositions were not lacking context.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the House Republican Conference chairwoman and a vocal Trump ally, went on multiple conservative networks to slam the hearing, which she indicated she would not watch during a press conference earlier in the day.
“There is a reason why Democrats and their allies in the media are shamelessly putting this on during prime time. It’s because they’re desperately trying to shift the narrative,” she told Newsmax.
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) took aim at Cheney, who was removed from her leadership position by her GOP colleagues last year due to her criticisms of the former president and his role in inciting the siege, in which pro-Trump rioters breached the building in an attempt to derail the certification of the election. Bishop criticized Cheney for agreeing to join the committee against GOP leadership’s wishes and blasted the panel for bringing on a former ABC News executive to produce the series of hearings.
“I’ve never seen a congressional hearing with teleprompters. This is a sick kind of a show. It is un-American in its nature. It is so ironic to me that Liz Cheney has been talking about with high dudgeon about the Constitution and protecting the Constitution,” he told Newsmax.
While some members slammed the hearing in its entirety, others said that Edwards’s testimony was moving but feel the panel should be looking into problems such as the security failures that allowed rioters to break into the building.
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Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) praised Edwards’s remarks, to a point.
“It’s harrowing. But it’s not new. Officer Edwards was compelling,” Armstrong told the Washington Examiner. “My heart hurts for her and every other officer [who] was injured that day. But when she told her sergeant they were going to need more people, my question isn’t why they weren’t already there. It seems like they are going to spend the next two weeks about how this was organized/coordinated but then say there was no way to prepare.”
