Donald Trump let his supporters run riot in the US Capitol

Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger says the former president ‘didn’t fail to act ... he chose not to act’.

Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Matthews are sworn in by the congressional committee in Washington on Thursday night. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump sat in the White House dining room for more than three hours during the violence that erupted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, refusing repeated attempts by his family and senior staff to make a statement to call off the riots, according to the latest hearing of a congressional committee investigating the riots.

The eighth public hearing of the January 6 committee, televised in prime time on Thursday night (Friday AEST), cast the former president’s behaviour in a highly unfavourable light, suggesting he was content to let the protesters run wild to delay the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

“Whatever you think about the outcome of the election … Donald Trump’s conduct on January 6 was a supreme violation of his oath of office and a complete dereliction of his duty to our nation,” said congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the nine-member committee.

“President Trump didn’t fail to act … he chose not to act”.

Except for calling his private lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and some Republican senators to shore up their political support, Mr Trump didn’t make any calls to his ministers or the security services during the 187 minutes he sat watching the violence unfold on cable TV, the committee heard.

Pat Cipollone, White House counsel at the time, said the president and senior staff knew rioters had breached the Capitol Building soon after 2pm, about an hour after Mr Trump finished a defiant speech at 1.10pm that alleged the election the “stolen”.

“It was pretty clear to me there needed to be an immediate forceful response, a public statement, that people need to leave the Capitol now,” said Mr Cipollone, ­appearing in the hearings for the second time.

Donald Trump finally calls off his supporters at 4.17pm on January 6, 2021. Picture: AFP

“I can’t think of anybody that day who didn’t want people out of the Capitol once the violence started,” he added, referring to his conversations with other advisers on that day.

The marathon, almost three-hour public hearing, aired in prime time on US television included fresh video, recordings and testimony that pointed to the ­danger then vice-president Mike Pence and his security staff, who took refuge in a bunker under the Capitol, faced as thousands of angry Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.

“I was disturbed and worried to see the president was attacking Vice-President Pence for doing his constitutional duty, it looked like the opposite of what we really needed at that moment, which was a de-escalation,” Matthew Pottinger, then deputy national security adviser, told the committee in live testimony.

The latest hearing provides further evidence against Mr Trump that could be used by the Justice Department to charge the former president with crimes against the US constitution.

Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews revealed in live testimony that Mr Trump “did not want to include any mention of ‘peace’ in (a) tweet and it wasn’t until (daughter) Ivanka (Trump) suggested the phrase “stay peaceful” that Trump finally agreed”.

One witness, Washington ­policeman Mark Robinson, corroborated earlier allegation that Mr Trump had a heated exchanged with a secret service driver who wouldn’t let him drive to the riot, which will add pressure on the DoJ to lay charges against Mr Trump.

Members of Mr Pence’s security were “fearing for their lives”, a security official told the committee. “A lot of very personal calls were being made. It was very disturbing. I don’t like talking about it, there were calls to say goodbye to family members,” said the official speaking anonymously.

The committee also revealed that Mr Trump, speaking off the cuff rather than reading a recommended script, eventually released a video message at 4.17pm, which told rioters to “go home”. “We love you, you’re very special”.

Republican Liz Cheney, vice- chairman of the committee, in summing up said “new subpoenas (had) been issued, and the dam has begun to break”, pointing to the resumption of the hearings in September.

The committee, which is ­expected to produce a final report later this year, potentially including recommendations for criminal charges against Mr Trump for conspiring against a peaceful transfer of power.

Attorney-General Merrick Garland, whose department will decide whether to make any charges, with or without recommendations from the committee, confirmed on Wednesday he had the power to charge the former president. “No person is above the law in this country. I can’t say it any more clearly than that,” he said.

Some Republicans have attacked the committee as a partisan effort to smear the former president amid mounting speculation that Mr Trump will ­announce his plans to run for the presidency again in 2024 before the November mid-term elections.