A committee is a group of people subordinate to some deliberative assembly or organization. Generally, matters are sent to a committee in order to explore them more fully than would be possible if the entire assembly were considering them at once. The committee can then report back to the assembly with its findings and recommendations. In more formal situations, especially in legislatures or corporate bodies with written by-laws, a chairman (or chairperson) is usually appointed to oversee the committee meetings. The chairman is responsible for keeping the discussion on topic, recognizing members to speak and confirming what the committee has decided through voting or by unanimous consent. The chairman may also be responsible for setting up teleconferencing or other means for members to participate in the committee meetings if they cannot attend in person, such as when the committee is made up of workers from different locations around the world.
The committee has a lot on its plate, including investigating the violence and damage to property during the Jan. 6 protests as well as the alleged attempts to alter votes by threatening or intimidating voters and pressuring election officials to refuse to count ballots or delay certification of electors. The panel is divided into a number of teams, each focusing on different aspects of the investigation. One team is examining how federal and local law enforcement responded to the protests, another is investigating online misinformation and extremist activity, while another is following the money by looking at the financial backing for the demonstrations.
As it does so, the committee is taking in huge amounts of data — interviewing hundreds of witnesses and announcing more than 50 subpoenas. The committee has also received hundreds of tips from the public on the matter, and it is reviewing tens of thousands of pages of records and transcripts of testimony given by witnesses.
Despite these difficulties, the committee is working to meet its deadline to report its conclusions by the end of this month. The panel’s final report will be highly anticipated, and many observers say it could lead to the first criminal referral against a sitting president in American history.
The committee is still waiting to receive 800 pages of records related to the presidential inauguration, and Trump’s lawyers have challenged whether the government has the authority to require the release of those documents. The committee has also been examining the role played by foreign governments in the protests, as well as a variety of other issues. The panel’s work has highlighted the divisions within Congress and in the country on how to proceed with an investigation that could have major implications for democracy in the United States.