The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that left five dead and hundreds of police officers injured will heat up in 2022, according to a new report.
The committee plans to hold public hearings next year before it releases a report detailing all the events of the riot from start to finish, The Washington Post first reported Monday.
A committee aide also confirmed to CNN that the House plans to release its initial findings by summer, and a final report by fall 2022, just in time for midterm elections. The committee hopes to get the information out before November’s election, which could see the probe shut down if Republicans win back the House.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told CNN earlier this month that public hearings will “tell the whole story” about the Capitol attack.
“I think we will want [public hearings] to tell the whole story,” Schiff said. “Security at the Capitol, the intelligence leading up to the attacks, lack of intelligence, the role of social media, the former President’s role, the role of those around him, and tell it in an era fashion so the public knows exactly what’s going on.”
A senior committee aide told The Washington Post that part of the investigation will include how former President Donald Trump was able to convince so many of his supporters the election was stolen despite zero evidence to the claim.
“I think that Trump and his team have done a pretty masterful job of exploiting millions of Americans,” the aide, who was not named, told the publication. “How do you get that many people screwed up that deeply? And continue to screw them up? Right? And what do we do about that?”
The committee has already subpoenaed big players in Trump’s orbit, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who was indicted last month by Congress for his refusal to comply to the subpoena. Former national security adviser and QAnon supporter Michael Flynn was denied a restraining order earlier this month against the House committee investigating his potential involvement in the Capitol attack. And Trump himself has failed to stop the committee from probing his own records.
The committee will also decide if criminal charges should be referred to the Justice Department depending on what the investigating panel finds.
Read the full report at The Washington Post.