Final planned Jan. 6 panel hearing to focus on 187 minutes of Trump inaction, member says

Jack Birle

July 17, 11:26 AM July 17, 11:26 AM

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) said the upcoming prime-time hearing from the Jan. 6 committee, which appears to be the last one of the summer slate, will focus on the 187 minutes former President Donald Trump was doing "nothing to stop the riot" on Jan. 6.

Luria, one of the two committee members who will lead the hearing Thursday, told host Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union that former White House counsel Pat Cipollone's testimony will be used in the hearing, along with that of other witnesses.

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"There’s other witnesses we’ve spoken to who have yet to appear in our previous hearings, who will add a lot of value and information to events of that critical time on Jan. 6," Luria said on Sunday.

When pressed on whom the other witnesses would be, Luria would not say but did announce there would be new people featured in the upcoming hearing.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 committee, made the case for Trump's "dereliction of duty" back in December, when she said Trump "refused to act" for exactly 187 minutes "when action by our president was required, it was essential, and it was compelled by his oath to our Constitution." During that period, Trump tweeted twice — once at 2:38 p.m., saying, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!" and then at 3:13 p.m., saying, "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order — respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!" Finally, at 4:17 p.m., Trump posted a video telling the rioters, "You have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order.”

During the CNN interview, Luria did not have a solid answer on whether the Secret Service had deleted text messages from Jan. 6, as was reported by a government watchdog, instead deferring to the committee’s subpoena of the text messages.

"We want to make sure we understand the bottom line," Luria said. "Where are these text messages? Can they be recovered? We subpoenaed them because they’re legal records we need to see for the committee."

Luria also stated a potential announcement by Trump of a 2024 presidential campaign would not affect the committee's work. In addition, she hinted the committee may have more hearings scheduled in the future, saying Thursday's hearing will be the "last in this series."

"You will definitely be hearing from the committee again that, you know, timeline or whether it’s in the form of hearings or other methods to present the evidence. But, you know, we have a responsibility to present the things we’ve uncovered and we are talking about how the best way to do that is after this hearing," Luria said

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The next hearing from the Jan. 6 House select committee is scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT.