The Jan. 6 committee’s eighth public hearing, which will air during prime time on Thursday, is set to feature two former White House aides, including former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews.
The hearing on Thursday — which is expected to be the “last one at this point,” according to committee Chairman Bennie Thompson — will examine the 187 minutes in between when former President Donald Trump ended his “Stop the Steal” rally and when he posted a video telling the rioters at the Capitol to “go home.” Lawmakers will hear from two witnesses, including Matthews, familiar with what Trump was doing during this time frame.
JAN. 6 COMMITTEE WILL PLAY OUTTAKES FROM TRUMP SPEECH DAY AFTER CAPITOL RIOT
Matthews, the deputy press secretary during the Trump administration, resigned just hours after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, later calling it “one of the darkest days in American history.” Before taking on that role in 2020, Matthews worked as a spokeswoman for Trump’s reelection campaign.
The former press aide agreed to testify after being subpoenaed by the committee in early July, days after ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson provided explosive testimony that elicited criticism from several on the Right who sought to dismiss it as unreliable. Matthews defended Hutchinson after her testimony on June 30, calling it “damning” for Trump.
“Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinson’s role or her access in the West Wing either doesn’t understand how the Trump [White House] worked or is attempting to discredit her because they’re scared of how damning this testimony is,” Matthews said in a tweet.
Matthews was one of several Trump aides who resigned in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, noting she was “deeply disturbed” and calling for “a peaceful transfer of power.”
“I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted,” she said at the time. “As someone who worked in the halls of Congress, I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today.”
The ex-White House aide previously met with the committee to provide testimony in February, when she was asked about activities inside the White House on the day of the attack.
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The committee will also hear testimony from former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger during its prime-time hearing. Pottinger was among the group of Trump officials who resigned after the Capitol attack.
The hearing is set to begin at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
