Donald Trump’s subpoena grabbed the headline – but new video of Capitol riots gripped the audience
He calls it the “Unselect Committee” and his appearance before it is uncertain, to say the least.
Certainly, Donald Trump showed no inclination in the wake of his subpoena.
“The committee is a total BUST that has only served to further divide our country,” he opined on his Truth Social media platform.
From its start, he has dismissed these congressional hearings as a political witch hunt.
Given his ongoing record of resistance to legal probing, dragging a former president before this particular set of accusers would suggest a struggle: some legal analysts in the United States are already calling the move “symbolic”.
At this, the last scheduled hearing of the 6 January committee, the subpoena may have grabbed the headline, but new film of the assault on the Capitol gripped the audience.
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The Jan 6 Committee has released previously unseen footage of congressional leaders phoning officials for help during the assault.
There was compelling new video of congressional leaders, ashen-faced in secure rooms beneath the Capitol building, negotiating national guard troops to come and protect their lives and their institution.
It delivered a fresh perspective to this prime-time hearing that brought a US audience back to the reality of the crisis that was 6 January 2021.
The committee’s presentation has been carefully crafted over four months, and the big finish had the best footage.
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Trump subpoenaed on Jan 6 riot
It was the visual aid in pulling together the threads of this committee’s insurrection story, one it says places Donald Trump at the centre, before and after the 2020 election.
Vice-chair Liz Cheney says they have “sufficient information to consider criminal referrals” and that could be the key to what happens next.
Having laid out a “prosecution by proxy”, the big question will be around actual prosecution, in an actual courtroom, which is a decision for the US Justice department.
Pic: AP
A “prosecution proper” would lay out much of the same detail, no doubt, but it would be tested in court; open to cross-examination and less open to accusations of political motivation.
Short of a progression towards a criminal trial, the committee will be satisfied, for now, with its business.
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Its members are no fans of Donald Trump and his re-shaping of the Republican Party.
They will take the view that there’s never a bad time to remind a voting public of one individual’s influence in undermining democracy – as they would have it – but a good time is probably a month short of their midterm elections.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
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