Schiff previews next Jan. 6 hearing: Assembling the 'mob'

Daniel Chaitin

July 03, 03:39 PM July 03, 03:52 PM

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) previewed the next Jan. 6 committee hearing, saying it will focus on right-wing groups at the Capitol riot.

The congressman shared the news on Sunday during an appearance on CBS News's Face the Nation, setting the stage for the second month of the panel's summer hearing slate.

"Our very next hearing will be focused on the efforts to assemble that mob on the Mall, who was participating, who was financing it, how it was organized, including the participation of these white nationalist groups like the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, and others," Schiff told anchor Margaret Brennan.

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"And so we'll be presenting information we have. We haven't answered all the questions that we have. We continue our investigation into precisely the issue you're describing," he added.

The panel held six hearings last month, and more are expected after Independence Day in July.

Schiff was responding to a question from Brennan, who cited an interview she had just conducted with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who warned about the threat of "domestic violent extremism" in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Brennan noted Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide who testified to the Jan. 6 committee about her recollection of hearing about the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, and asked Schiff if there is corroborating evidence to show there was communication between those groups and the White House.

"I don't want to get too far ahead of what we intend to present in our next hearings," Schiff replied.

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The Proud Boys describe themselves as a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world." The Oath Keepers is a loosely organized group largely composed of former law enforcement and military personnel, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors have hit members of both groups with seditious conspiracy and other charges for their actions surrounding the Capitol riot. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, indicated in June that investigators have evidence to show the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were in contact with members of former President Donald Trump's inner circle.