Capitol riot hearings: Trump's claim of voter fraud branded 'bulls**t' by close ally

An investigation into the US Capitol riots has heard that close allies of former president Donald Trump – and even his daughter – rejected his false claims of election fraud, with one calling it “bulls**t”.

On the first of six days of public hearings before a House of Representatives select committee, a never-seen-before 12-minute graphic video of the insurrection was shown.

In it, rioters could be seen smashing their way into the Capitol building on Washington DC’s National Mall, following then-President Trump’s incendiary speech in which he repeated his claims he had been denied a second term due to voter fraud.

At the time the Capitol was in session, overseeing the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s win.

Five people died and more than 100 police officers were injured in the chaos.

The hearing witnessed public statements from key Trump administration figures including his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, Vice President Mike Pence and his chief of staff, Attorney General William Barr and General Mark Milley.

At one point there was an audible gasp when the committee was told that when Mr Trump heard the Capitol mob was chanting for Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged, he responded that maybe they were right, that he “deserves it”.

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Mr Trump was angry Mr Pence, presiding in the House chamber, had refused his order to reject the certification of Mr Biden’s victory.

While the facts of the 6 January 2021 attack are well known, the committee is trying to put together the story of how it happened, to prevent a repeat.

The made-for-TV hearings – shown on US network channels at prime time – included video of police officers being beaten and right-wing extremists leading the crowds into the iconic building.

‘A constitutional crisis’

Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, the panel’s vice chair who took the lead for much of the hearing, said Mr Trump had “summoned a violent mob”.

“When a president fails to take the steps necessary to preserve our union – or worse, causes a constitutional crisis – we’re in a moment of maximum danger for our republic.”

The committee’s probe comes as some have tried to downplay the violence.

“We can’t sweep what happened under the rug,” said Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the committee, “the American people deserve answers.”

Mr Thompson described the attack as an “attempted coup” that put “two and half centuries of constitutional democracy at risk”.

In one video testimony, former US Attorney General Mr Barr called the election fraud claims “bulls**t”, an argument that appeared to have also convinced Mr Trump’s daughter.

“I respect Attorney General Barr. So I accepted what he was saying,” Ivanka Trump said in her videotaped statement.

Testifying in person, was one of the US Capitol police officers, Caroline Edwards, who sustained a brain injury as she battled the mob.

She described insults hurled by rioters at her during the melee but said she was proud of fighting them off, even after
being injured.

“I was slipping in people’s blood,” she said. “It was carnage. It was chaos.”

“What I saw was just a war scene.”

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