Welcome to Committee News, where you can find information about Parliament’s select committees. These are small groups of MPs who examine Parliamentary business in more detail, and can be very useful for anyone with an interest in a particular area of policy.
Committee News provides an overview of select committee activities, including public hearings and meetings, the work of select committee staff, and submissions to select committees.
Congressional committees are an essential part of our democracy, and are the only institution in this country where we allow citizen witnesses to testify about their experiences or concerns with federal government agencies. Hearings help to educate and empower citizens, as well as give legislators the opportunity to hear directly from their constituents about important issues facing the nation.
The fourth hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was held on Tuesday. It focused on how President Trump and his aides tried to overturn the election results by enlisting state lawmakers and officials to pressure them to do what they thought was wrong, such as claiming widespread voter fraud.
One of the key witnesses at the hearing was Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a co-chairman of the committee. He told the panel that he was among several members who were subjected to “derogatory and demeaning comments” from Trump supporters in the days after the election. Gaetz said he was told that if he didn’t vote for Trump, the “next president of the United States could be an African-American or female.”
Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, emphasized that Trump knew he lost and yet continued to make baseless claims about electoral fraud. She added that many of the witnesses testifying have made personal sacrifices in their willingness to come forward and withstand the pressure put on them by Trump and his ally Rudy Giuliani.
Cheney also criticized the Justice Department for avoiding publicizing the committee’s investigation into the attack on the Capitol, saying it shows that the DOJ is not interested in holding up the American flag of transparency. She also noted that the DOJ does not generally divulge the progress of ongoing investigations until they report to Congress.
The committee is scheduled to hold another hearing on Nov. 28 and is following up on 472 tips received through its online tip line. The committee has also posted video recordings of its previous hearings on its YouTube channel. The formal meetings of the committee are streamed live on UN Web TV and are available in the six official languages of the United Nations. In addition, the committee has also posted its transcripts from the last three hearings.