The U.S. House of Representatives parliamentary committee investigating the January 6 storming of the Capitol is set to begin a series of public hearings next week. The meetings are broadcast live and aim to highlight the violence that took place that day.
The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has spent the past year investigating what led to the storming of the House of Representatives by supporters of then-US President Donald Trump and what motivated them to do so.
The Commission of Inquiry is trying to determine what role Trump played in storming the US Congress when the results of the presidential election were announced. Trump claims without evidence that electoral fraud was committed. The researchers conducted thousands of interviews and collected more than 125,000 documents. They spoke with (former) Trump employees and prominent figures within the Republican party.
One of the questions that will be at the center of the public hearings, according to CNN, is why Trump refused for hours to condemn the attack and whether this proves that he failed to act and tried to thwart Congressional determination.
The first hearing will take place on Thursday, June 9, at 8 p.m. (local time). Sessions are also scheduled for June 13, 15, 16, 21 and 23. The public hearings will take place five months before the United States midterm elections. The Democratic party wants to prevent Republicans from regaining their majority in the US Congress during those elections.