The select Committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the
United States Capitol will be in order.
Without objection. The chairs are authorized to declare the committee
in recess at any point.
But so in the House deposition authority regulation 10, the chair,
announces the committee's approval to release the deposition material
presented during today's hearing.
Good afternoon.
In our previous hearings, the Select committee showed that then President
Trump applied pressure at every level of government.
From local election workers up to his own vice president.
Hoping public servants would give in to that pressure and helped
him steal an election He actually lost.
Today will tell the story of how the pressure campaign also targeted
the federal agency charged with enforcement of our laws, the Department
of Justice
We are already covered part of Mr Trump's effort.
We heard from Attorney General Bill Barr tell the story in the committee
about the baseless claims Mr Trump wanted the Justice Department
to investigate.
And that Mr Barr viewed those claims as nonsense.
Today. We'll hear from Jeffrey Rosen, the person Mr Trump appointed
to run the Justice Department after Attorney General Barr resigned.
We'll hear from other senior Justice Department officials also
Together, these public servants resisted Mr Trump's effort to misuse
the Justice Department as part of his plan to hold onto power.
And we will show that Trump's demands that the department investigate
baseless claims of election fraud continued into January, 2021
But Donald Trump didn't just want the Justice Department to investigate.
He wanted the Justice Department to help legitimized his last
To basically call the election corrupt to appoint a special counsel.
To investigate alleged election fraud.
To send a letter to six state legislatures, urging them to consider
altering the election results.
And when these and other efforts fail.
Donald Trump.
Salt to replace Mr Rosen, the acting attorney general with a lawyer
who he believed would inappropriately put the full weight.
Of the Justice Department behind the effort to overturn the election.
Let's think about what that means.
Wherever you live in the United States, there's probably a local
government executive.
A mayor or a county commissioner.
There's also an official responsible for enforcing the laws, a district
attorney or local prosecutor.
Imagine if you're mayor last a reelection, be it.
But instead of conceding the race, they picked up the phone. Call
the district attorney and say it, I want you to say this election
was stolen.
I want you to tell the board of elections not to certify the results.
That's essentially what Donald Trump was trying to do with the election
for president of the United States.
It was a brazen attempt.
To use the Justice Department to advance the president's personal
political agenda.
Today.
My colleague from Illinois.
Mr Kinsey Girl and other witnesses will walk through the select committee's
findings on these matters.
But first I recognize are distinguished vice chair Ms Cheney, Wyoming