January 6 committee flooded with new evidence

Hours of footage from documentary filmmaker granted extensive access to Donald Trump and his inner circle before and after January 6 now available

Former president Donald Trump, his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner. Getty Images / AFP

The US House of Representatives committee investigating last year's attack on the Capitol announced a break from its televised hearings on Wednesday after receiving a glut of new video footage of Donald Trump and his family from a documentary filmmaker.

Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters during last Thursday's hearing on Mr Trump's alleged attempts to corrupt the Justice Department would be the last until two further hearings “later in July”.

Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Elections Department employee in Georgia, testifies before the US House committee investigating former president Donald Trump, as her mother, Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, looks on. Reuters

Former Fulton County, Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman talks with Metropolitan police officer Harry Dunn, who was assaulted during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Reuters

US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn hugs Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Georgia election worker, after she testified during the fourth hearing on the January 6 investigation. Getty / AFP

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling return from a break. Getty / AFP

A text message is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. House select committee / AP

Mike Shirkey, majority leader of the Michigan State Senate, speaks during an interview with the House select committee. House select committee / AP

A tweet by former president Donald Trump is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee. House select committee / AP

Rudy Giuliani speaks with the House select committee. House select committee / AP

Security video from Arizona shows protesters gathering to contest the state's 2020 presidential vote certification. House select committee / AP

Former president Donald Trump tweeted personal information about public officials. House select committee / AP

Trump supporters insist that he won the state of Georgia during the 2020 election. House select committee / AP

Rudy Giuliani tweeted false claims that the Georgia election was stolen. House select committee / AP

Ruby Freeman, a Georgia poll worker, received death threats after Mr Trump disclosed her name at a rally. House select committee / AP

A real and a fake certificate of vote for Georgia is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee. House select committee / AP

A tweet by former president Donald Trump makes a claim of voter fraud in Georgia. House select committee / AP

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testifies next to Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling. Reuters

An audio recording of a phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Raffensperger is played during the fourth of eight planned public hearings. Reuters

House select committee members Adam Schiff, Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney listen to testimony. EPA

Mr Bowers, Mr Raffensperger and Mr Sterling during the fourth hearing. AFP

Mr Bowers, Mr Raffensperger and Mr Sterling depart after testifying. Reuters

Mr Thompson did not elaborate on the timetable but said further hearings after the two in July are “always a possibility”.

“The timeline of the hearings is driven, and continues to be driven, by the investigation. The select committee continues to receive relevant new evidence that we think is very important to the investigation,” an aide to the panel said.

“It's important that our members [and] investigators take the time needed to assess that information and figure out how we're going to use that information as we continue to make our presentation to the American people.”

The new evidence includes documents from the National Archive and several new leads given to a tip line since the televised hearings began earlier in June.

The most prized haul, however, will be hours of footage from documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, who was granted extensive access to Mr Trump and his inner circle before and after January 6.

Mr Holder began filming on the campaign trail in September 2020, Politico reported, and had substantial access to Mr Trump, his grown-up children and his vice president, Mike Pence, for months.

Congress goes on a two-week recess for the July 4 holiday starting next week.

When members return in the second week of July, they are expected to dedicate at least some of the remaining hearings to the radicalisation of extremists who stormed the Capitol as well as the culture of political violence on the far right.

In a sign of heightened political tension surrounding the hearings, The New York Times reported an increase in violent threats against members of the panel and added that they would likely receive a security detail.

Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the nine-member committee, revealed a letter addressed to his wife at the weekend that threatened to execute the couple and their five-month-old baby.

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington. AFP

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have already spoken to January 6 investigators. Whether they will appear in primetime is yet to be determined. Reuters

Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for former president Donald Trump, gives a press conference in the car park of the Four Seasons landscaping company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Joe Biden was declared as winner of the 2020 presidential election, which he claimed was false. As a result of these claims, Mr Giuliani can no longer practice law in the state of New York. EPA

Donald Trump meets Clint Hickman, vice chairman of Arizona's 4th District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, at Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr Hickman said that he refused to take calls from the White House and Mr Trump, who he said was trying to overturn the battleground state's results. AP

Four days before the Capitol riot, Donald Trump placed a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked the official to 'find' 11,780 votes to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the battleground state. The House committee investigators have already interviewed election officials in the state. AP

Ruby Freeman was an employee of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 presidential election. After the state went to Joe Biden, Donald Trump accused Ms Freeman of stealing ballots in a call with Brad Raffensperger, who told Mr Trump that he was being misled by claims on social media. Reuters

Kimberly Guilfoyle, engaged to Donald Trump's son, boasted to a Republican operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the January 6 Capitol riot. She may be called to testify. AFP

Kash Patel, chief of staff to former acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller, gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee on December 9, 2021. Members of the committee and staff members had been meeting with Mr Patel and 'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander. Getty Images / AFP

The Willard Hotel in Washington played home to a 'war room' set up by advisers of Donald Trump and has become the focus of the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack. AFP

Former White House chief strategist in the Trump administration Steven Bannon leaves a federal courthouse in Washington after being indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. EPA

Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidant of Donald Trump, gave a deposition before the committee in which he repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned. Getty Images / AFP

Bennie Thompson was chosen by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol. Getty Images / AFP

Bennie Thompson meets Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the select committee, Adam Kinzinger and Jamie Raskin on Capitol Hill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend contempt of Congress charges for former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark for defying his subpoena, refusing to answer questions and failing to hand over documents to the committee. Getty Images / AFP

Liz Cheney, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and other members of the committee speak to reporters after meeting with Nancy Pelosi. Reuters

Republican Scott Perry of Pennsylvania helped promote theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, resulting in millions of tax dollars spent on recounts in the state. Election workers there were also threatened with violence. Reuters

Lawyer John Eastman spoke with Donald Trump's personal legal representative Rudy Giuliani at the January 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington. During the melee, Mr Eastman emailed Greg Jacobs, aid to vice president at the time Mike Pence, to say that it was Mr Pence's fault that the riot was taking place because he refused to block the election's certification results. Reuters

Before Mike Pence could certify the Electoral College votes before Congress, the last step in the process before Joe Biden was to be sworn in, rioters breached the US Capitol. Outside the chamber doors, a person was shot and police officers were beaten and trampled as some rioters yelled: 'Hang Mike Pence!' EPA

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he has no intention of complying with a subpoena to appear before the committee and missed a scheduled deposition. Committee members voted unanimously to pursue criminal contempt charges against Mr Meadows for refusing to give evidence. AFP

In a legal setback, a federal appeals court ruled against Donald Trump, demanding he turn over White House records to the committee. AP

Fox News host Sean Hannity sent text messages to the White House during the January 6 insurrection. AP

The Oath Keepers is a US militia group that recruits former members of the military and law enforcement, with many participating in the January 6 attack. The committee has sent a subpoena to its founder, Stewart Rhoades, and several members have been arrested. AP

The select committee subpoenaed Enrique Tarrio, naming him as leader of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that responded to Donald Trump’s call to descend on Washington and which played a central role in the attack on the Capitol. EPA

US Olympic swimmer Klete Keller can be seen, with arms extended and wearing a blue kerchief covering his face, during the attack on the US Capitol. He pled guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and is co-operating with the committee. AFP

House select committee member Liz Cheney told CNN that a witness said Donald Trump's daughter and former White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, pleaded with her father to put a stop to the violence that took place on January 6. Getty Images / AFP

On January 9, 2021, Twitter banned Donald Trump after he tweeted his support for the rioters. Reuters

'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee. Getty Images / AFP

Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary under former US president Donald Trump, leaves the O'Neill House office building following a meeting with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Reuters

John Eastman, a lawyer for former president Donald Trump, possibly broke legal and ethical rules relating to the 2020 election. AP

Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman, admitted to speaking with Donald Trump on January 6 but refuses to speak with the committee. Reuters

“There is violence in the future, I'm going to tell you,” Mr Kinzinger told ABC on Sunday. “And until we get a grip on telling people the truth, we can't expect any differently.”

Committee vice-chairwoman Liz Cheney halted attending large, public events long ago due in part to concerns over her safety as she fends off a primary challenge to her Wyoming seat in Congress.

Federal agents issued subpoenas over the insurrection on Wednesday, raiding the homes of two people involved in the plot to overturn the election, The Washington Post reported.

A noose and makeshift gallows was erected on the National Mall near the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as rioters chanted, 'Hang Mike Pence'. Bloomberg

The rioters yelled 'hang Mike Pence' during the attack. AFP

Chairman Bennie Thompson swears in J Michael Luttig, former US federal judge and adviser to former vice president Mike Pence, and Greg Jacob, former counsel to Mr Pence, during the third public hearing of the US House committee on January 6. Reuters

Mr Luttig is sworn in before giving evidence during the third hearing. AFP

Mr Jacob and Mr Luttig focused their evidence on former president Donald Trump's efforts to pressure Mr Pence into using his role to block congressional certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. Bloomberg

Mr Luttig gives evidence during the hearing. AFP

Mr Luttig and Mr Jacob said that Mr Pence knew that he did not have the authority to re-elect Mr Trump. Reuters

Mr Jacob said that the framers of the US Constitution made sure that no one person could choose the American president. Reuters

Committee Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney questions the witnesses. Reuters

Images of the attack on the US Capitol were projected as the committee began its third day of hearings. AFP

Many of those arrested for their participation in the attack on the Capitol said in court that they were there at the behest of Mr Trump. AFP

Mr Thompson and Ms Cheney lead the hearing. Reuters

Mr Trump told his supporters on January 6 that they needed to send a message to Mr Pence. AFP

Former US president Donald Trump made round-the-clock from the White House 'looking for votes' and trying to convince his vice president to not confirm Joe Biden as winner of the 2020 election. AFP

US Representative Pete Aguilar delivers remarks. Getty Images / AFP

US Representative Adam Kinzinger listens during the third hearing. Getty Images / AFP

US Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) listens during the third hearing. Getty Images / AFP

The committee heard that former US vice president Mike Pence that rioters were dangerously close on January 6. EPA

A monitor shows video footage of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, during Thursday's public hearing. EPA

One Trump supporter had reportedly tried to impersonate an official elector — the people chosen by the winning party in each state to choose the president under America's Electoral College voting system.

The other raid target worked on Mr Trump's drive to invalidate the election in Arizona and New Mexico. Other participants in Mr Trump's reported plot received subpoenas.

The action came after officials in Arizona and Georgia appeared on Tuesday before the select committee's fourth public hearing this month to outline Mr Trump's efforts to cling to power, which involved bullying local officials and poll workers, publishing their personal details and defaming them.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.