Nine noted Americans will begin hearings on the fate of those who stormed the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. No, we are not talking about members of the Supreme Court but a House Committee set to start hearings on Thursday to investigate an insurrection mainly organized to challenge the outcome of the presidential election and keep Trump in office.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, 74, (D-Miss) will chair the committee that is composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans. Almost 100 people involved in the upheaval, many of them closely allied with white nationalists organizations and calling themselves patriots, have been subpoenaed and will be questioned on their role in the mayhem.
Thompson has openly accused Trump of inciting the uprising and conspiring with various extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. He is sure to pull no punches when it comes to interrogating the accused instigators. Most of the hearings will probably pivot on which Trump records are made available.
The other members of the committee include Republican Liz Chaney, 55, of Wyoming, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Chaney and the vice-chair of the committee; and Adam Kinzinger, 44, of Illinois, who was appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after Rep. Kevin McCarthy pulled his five appointees from sitting on the panel. He was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. There is no fear of retribution for his outspoken criticism of his party since he is not running for re-election.
But another member of the committee, Rep. Elaine Luria, 46, (D-Va.) is seeking to return to office in a district that is increasingly red. She is a retired Navy commander and actively sought to be a member of the committee. Rep. Jamie Raskin, 59, (D-Md.) garnered national attention after he was the House’s impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment. In draft of the impeachment articles against Trump he minced no words.
Like Kinzinger, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, 43, (D-Fla.), is not seeking to return to office after this term. The public awaits to hear some of the shocking things she told the press she had learned about the insurrection and those involved. The only Latino on the committee is Rep. Pete Aguilar, 42, (D-Calif) and he is also the youngest. He has been very vocal about the insurrection, which he said left five dead and more than 140 police officers injured and a nation mortified.
Rep. Adam Schiff, 61, (D-Calif) gathered recognition for his leading role in Trump’s first impeachment case. He chairs the House Intelligence Committee and has won favor with a number of African Americans for his praise and quotes of poet Amanda Gorman. Like Thompson, Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is 74 and aggressively sought Trump being impeached. She chairs the House Administration Committee, and we can expect her to be no less prosecutorial during the hearings.
To no one’s surprise the hearings to be covered by all the main media platforms will not be carried by Fox News, which in its absence confirms its hostility to democratic proceedings.