Rep. Cheney the committee will be in order. Thompson repgood evening. Earlier this week, i received a positive covid diagnosis. I received the initial two shots and all of the boosters. So far, i have been blessed to experience very minimal symptoms. Because i am still quarantined, i cannot participate in person with my colleagues. I have asked our vice chair, ms. Cheney to preside over this evenings hearings, including maintaining order in the room and swearing in our witnesses. Over the last month and a half, the select committee has told the story of a president who did everything in his power to overturn an election. He lied, he bullied, he betrayed his oh oath. He summoned a mob to washington. When he heard that the mob was heavily armed and angry, he commanded the mob to go to the capitol and he emphatically commanded the heavily armed mob to fight like hell. In the weeks before the election, donald trump was a force to be reckoned with. He shrugged off the legality of the advice of his knowledgeable and principal advisors. Instead, he recklessly blazed a path of lawlessness and corruption, the cost of which democracy be damned. Then he stopped. For 187 minutes on january 6, this man of unbridled destructive energy could not be moved. Not by his age, not by his allies, not by the writers or not by his aids, not by his allies, not by the writers or ,the desperate pleas of those facing down the right. Donald trump ignored and disregarded the desperate pleas of his own family including ivanka and don jr. Even though he was the only person in the world who could call off the mob. He said he could not be moved to rise from his dining room table and walk the few steps down the white house hallway into the press Briefing Room where cameras were anxiously and desperately waiting to carry his message to the armed and a violent mob savagely beating and killing officers, avenging the capital and hunting down the Vice President and various members of congress. He could not be moved. This evening, my colleagues will mr. Kensington or of illinois, and ms. Dash of virginia. Well take you inside the white house during those 187 minutes. We will also remind you of what is happening at the capital. Minute by minute. As Donald Trumps scheme unraveled. All while he ignored his advisors, stood by and watched this unfold on television. Let me offer a final thought about the select Committee Work so far. As we made clear throughout these hearings, our investigation goes forward, we continue to receive new information every day. We continue to hear from witnesses. We will reconvene in september to continue laying out our findings to the american people. As that work goes forward, a number of facts are clear. There can be no doubt that there was a coordinated effort to overturn an election, overseen and directed by donald trump. There can be no doubt that he commanded a mob. A mob that he knew was heavily armed, violent and angry to march on the capital to try to stop the peaceful transfer of power. He made targets out of his own Vice President and the lawmakers gathered to do the peoples work. These facts have gone the undisputed. There needs to be accountability. Accountability under the law, accountability to the american people, accountability at every level from the local precincts in many states where donald trump and his allies attacked election workers for just doing their jobs. All the way up to the oval office where donald trump embraced the legal advice of insurrectionists that a fellow judge has already said was a coup in search of a legal theory. Our democracy with stood the attack on january 6. If there is no accountability for january 6, i fear that we for every part of this scheme. I fear that we will not overcome the ongoing threat to our democracy. There must be stiff consequences for those responsible. Now i will turn things over to our vice chair to start telling this story. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The presiding officer is able to declare the committee and recess at any point. Pursuant to regulation 10, i announce that the committee has approved the release of the deposition material resented during todays hearing. Let me begin tonight by wishing chairman thompson a rapid recovery from covid. He has expertly led us through eight hearings so far and he brought us to where we are at today. What we have described is Donald Trumps seven part plan to overturn the 2020 election. A plan stretching through january 6. At the close of todays hearings, tonight, we will have addressed each element of that plan. Over the course of these hearings, we have received these new witnesses new evidence and new witnesses have stepped forward. Efforts to litigate and overcome immunity and executive privilege and those continued. Doors have opened. New subpoenas have been issued and the dam has begun to break. Now, even as we conduct our ninth hearing, we have considerably more to do. We have far more evidence to share with the american people. Our committee will spend august pursuing emerging information on multiple fronts before convening further hearings for september. Today, we know far more about the president s plans to overturn the election. Then most members of congress did when President Trump was impeached in 2021 or when he was tried by the senate in february of that year. 57 of 100 senators voted to convict President Trump at that time. More than 20 others said they were voting against conviction because the president s term had already expired. At the time, the republican leader of the United States senate said this about donald trump. A mob was assaulting the capital. In his name. These criminals were carrying his banners. They were hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him. It was obvious. That only President Trump could end this. He was the only one. Rep. Cheney leader mcconnell reached his conclusions based on what he knew then without more of the detailed evidence you will see today. Lawlessness and violence begin at the capital on january 6 2021 before 1 00 p. M. And continued until well after darkness fell. What was our commanderinchief doing during the hours of violence . Today, we address exactly that issue. Everything you have heard in these hearings thus far will help you understand President Trumps motives during the violence. You already know Donald Trumps goal, to halt or delay congresss proceedings to count electoral votes. You know that donald trump tried to pressure his Vice President to illegally reject votes and delay the proceedings. You know he tried to convince state legislators to flip their electoral votes from biden to trump. You know that donald trump try to corrupt Art Department of justice to aid his scheme. By january 6, none of that had worked. Only one thing was succeeding on the afternoon of january 6. Only one thing was achieving President Trump school. The angry armed mob that President Trump sent to the capital capitol and forced the vote counting to stop. That mob was violent and destructive and many came armed. As you will hear, secret Service Agents protecting the Vice President were exceptionally concerned about his safety and their own. Republican leaders, Kevin Mccarthy was scared. As were others in congress. Even those who themselves helped provoke the violence. As you will see today, Donald Trumps own white house counsel, his own white house staff, members of his own family all implored him to immediately intervene to condemn the violence and instruct his supporters to stand down and immediately disperse. For multiple hours, he would not. Donald trump would not get on the phone and order the military or Law Enforcement agencies to help. Donald trump chose not to enter the police from congress, his own party and all across our nation to do what his oath required. He refused to defend our nation and our constitution. He refused to do what every american president must. In the days after january 6, almost no one of any Political Party would defend President Trumps conduct and no one should do so today. Thank you, and i now recognize the gentleman from virginia. Thank you madame vice chair, article two of our constitution requires that the president swear a very specific oath every four years. To execute the office of the president of the United States and to the best of their ability preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. The president also assumes the constitutional duty to take care, that our nations laws successfully be executed and as the commanderinchief of our military, our hearings have shown that these committees try the many ways that President Trump tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power on the days leading up to with each step of january 6. His plan, he betrayed his oath of office and was derelict in his duty. Tonight, we will further examine President Trumps actions on the on the day of the attack on the capital capitol. Early that afterrnoon, President Trump instructed tens of thousands of supporters, a number of whom he knew were armed with various types of weapons to march on the capital. After telling the crowd to march multiple times, he promised he would be with them and finished his remarks at 1 10 p. M. Like this. President trump we will walk down and i will be there with you. We will walk down, we will walk down. Anyone you want. I think right here but i think we will walk down to the capitol. Lets walk down pennsylvania avenue. The Vice President was in the capitol. The proud boys and other writers had stormed through the barrier ended on the attack. Radio communication from Law Enforcement informed secret service and those in the white house situation room of these developments in realtime. At the direction of President Trump, thousands more rioters marched from the capital capitol and they joined the attack. As you will see in great detail so i, President Trump was being advised by nearly everyone to immediately instruct supporters to leave the capital, disperse and halt the violence. Virtually everyone told President Trump to condemn the violence in clear and unmistakable terms and those on capitol hill and across the nation begged President Trump to help. The former president chose not to do what all of those people begged. He refused to tell the mob to leave until 4 17, when he tweeted out a video statement filmed in the rose garden. Ending with this. President trump go home, we love you, you are very special, you have seen what happens, you see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel but go home and go home in peace. By that time, two pipe bombs had been found near the capital. Capitol. Including where the Vice President elect was conducting a meeting. Hours of handtohand combat seriously injured scores of Law Enforcement officers. The capital had been invaded, the electoral account had been halted as members were evacuated. Rioters took the floor of the senate. They rifled through desks and broke into offices and nearly caught up to Vice President pence. Guns were drawn on the house floor and a rioter was shot. A rioter was shot attempting to infiltrate this chamber. We know virtually all the rioters were motivated by President Trumps rhetoric. That the election had been stolen, and they felt that they needed to take their country back. This hearing is principally about what happened inside the white house that afternoon. From the time that President Trump ended his speech, until the moment when he finally told the mob to go home. A span of 180 seven minutes, more than three hours. What you will learn is that President Trump sat in his grinding dining room and watched the attack on television while his seniormost staff and family members begged him to do what is expected of any american president. I served proudly for 20 years as an officer in the United States navy, veterans of our armed forces know the leadership that is required in a time of crisis. Urgent and Decisive Action that puts it duty and country first. But on january 6, when lives and our democracy hung in the balance, President Trump refused to act because of his selfish desire to stay in power. I yield from i yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Kessinger. Rep. Kessinger one week later, Kevin Mccarthy acknowledged the civil truth, President Trump should have acted immediately to stop the violence. During our investigation, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff also remarked on the president s failure to act. Lets hear what they had to say. The president bears responsibility for wednesdays attack on congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action from President Trump. You are the commanderinchief, you have in an assault going on on the capitol of the United States of america. No call, nothing. Rep. Kessinger like my colleague from virginia, i am a veteran. I served in the air force and i currently serve in the national guard. I can tell you that reaction to President Trumps conduct is 100 correct. And so was leader mccarthys. What explains President Trumps behavior . Why didnt he take action in a crisis . Because President Trumps plan for january 6 was to halt or delay congresses proceeding to count the vote. The mob attacked the capital quickly. Caused the evacuation of the house and senate, the count ground to an absolute halt and was ultimately delayed for hours. The mob was accomplishing President Trumps purpose. So of course he did not intervene. Here what is while here is what will be clear by the end of the meeting, President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between living the between the meeting at the ellipse and telling the mob to go home, he chose not to act. There were hundreds that day who put their lives on the land to on the line to protect the people and to safeguard our democracy many of them are here with us and many more are watching from home. As you already know, their service and sacrifice shines a bright light on President Trumps dishonor and dereliction of duty. I yield to the vice chair. Rep. Cheney i would like to begin by welcoming our witnesses this evening. Tonight we are joined by mr. Matthew conger. He is a decorated former marine, Intelligence Officer who served this nation on tours of duty in afghanistan and iraq. He served in the Trump White House from the first day of administration through the Early Morning hours of january 7, 2021. The last role in which he served in the white house was as deputy to the National Security adviser of the United States. We are also joined by sarah matthews. Ms. Matthews started her career in communications working on capitol hill. Serving on the staff of several house committees. She worked as on trumps Reelection Campaign, before joining the Trump White House in june of 2020. She served their as Deputy Press Secretary and special assistant to the president until the evening of january 6, 2021. I will now swear in our witnesses. The witnesses will please stand and raise their right hands. Do you swear under penalty of perjury that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Thank you, you may be seated and let the record reflect that the witness has answered in the affirmative. Thank you both again for being here tonight. Mr. Conger, thank you for your service to the nation as well as for joining us this evening. Can you please briefly explain what your response abilities what your responsibilities were as Deputy National security adviser to the president . Thank you madam vice chair. When i started at the white house, i was a senior director for asia. That was a job that helped that involved helping coordinate the president s asia policy. I supported the president when he met or interacted with asian leaders. Later, 2019, i was promoted to the job of Deputy National security advisor. In that role, i was the chairman of the deputies committee. That is an nfc meeting of all of the deputy cabinet secretaries. We would settle matters of National Policy related to National Security, and we would tee up options for the president and his cabinet members. I felt then as we do now that it was a privilege to serve in the white house. I am very proud of President Trumps Foreign Policy accomplishments. We were able to finally compete with china. We were also able to broker peace agreements between israel and three arab states. Those are the types of policies that made our country safer. Rep. Cheney thank you, mr. Conger, were you in the white house during the attack on the capital january 6 . For most of the day, i was in the white house. For most of the rally, i was actually offsite in a scheduled meeting with indias ambassador to the United States. The National Security Council Staff was not involved in organizing the security for what was a domestic event, the rally. But i did return to the white house at roughly 2 30 p. M. Rep. Cheney my colleagues will have additional questions for you that afternoon. How did you come to join President Trumps white house staff . I am a lifelong republican and i joined to the Trump Reelection Campaign in june of 2019. I was one of the first communication staffers on board for his Reelection Campaign and during that time, i traveled all around the country and met this met Kayleigh Mcenany who was also working on his Reelection Campaign. I formed a close relationship with ms. Mackin amy ms. Kayleigh mcenany she moved over to the white house in april of 2022 start as White House Press secretary and she over a group of Campaign Staff with her so i joined her over at the white house in june of 2022 start as her deputy. Rep. Cheney were you at work at the white house on january 6 . Yes. I was working out of the west wing on that day. Rep. Cheney thank you. President trump summoned to the mob to d. C. On january 6. Before he went on stage, he knew that some of them were armed and prepared for combat. During his speech, he implored them to march to the capitol as he had always planned to do. By the time he walked off the stage, supporters had already breached the capitol at the foot of capitol hill. Since our last hearing, we received new testimony from a security professional working in the white house complex on january 6 with access to relevant information and responsibility to report to National Security officials. This security official told us that the white house was aware of multiple reports of weapons in the crowd that morning. We as a committee, are cognizant of the fear of retribution by security witnesses who have come forward to tell the truth. We have taken steps to protect this National Security individuals identity. Listen to this clip. The message to the people about this. To be completely honest this we were all in a state of shock. Why . Because, the actual feasibility of doing it, and we knew that it would have implications. This would no longer be a rally, this was going to be Something Else if they walked to the capitol we all knew this would move from a normal democratic public event to Something Else. What was driving that sentiment . Considering, this part of it, the actual why were we alarmed . Right. The president wanted to lead people to the capitol. Even though he understood that thousands of his supporters were armed, the president was so adamant to go to the capital. Capitol. The secret Service Agent was adamant that he could not go. That led to we have evidence from multiple sources regarding an angry exchange in the president ial suv including testimony that we will disclose today and to witnesses who disclosed today from two witnesses who confirmed the confrontation occurred. The first witness is a former white house employee with after seeing the initial violence at the capitol on tv, the individual went to see the deputy chief of staff. It was bobby ingle, the lead secret Service Agent to the president. This employee told us that he said that the president was irate when mr. Ingle refused to drive them to the capital. Mr. Ingle did not refute the second witness is retired Sergeant Mark robinson of the d. C. Police department who was assigned to the president ial motorcade that day. He sat and lead vehicle with the secret Service Agent responsible for the motorcade. Also called the ts agent. Heres how Sergeant Robinson remembers the exchange. Were there any descriptions of what was occurring in the car . No. The only description i received was that the president was upset and adamant about going to the capital and there was a heated discussion about that. Capital ad discussion about that. When you say heated, was that your word . No, the president was upset and he was going to the capital. How many times would you say he had been part of that motorcade . Probably over 100 times. In that 100 times, did you ever witness another discussion or argument of a heated discussion with the president where they were contradicting where he was supposed to go . No. Like other witnesses, Sergeant Robinson also testified that he was aware that individuals in the crowd were armed. Yes, i believe they were on the special event channel and i was monitoring the traffic so i could hear some of the units pointing out individuals along constitution avenue that were armed, up in the trees. I could hear the units responded to those individuals. There is always a concern when that is happening in the area. Like other witnesses, Sergeant Robinson told us the president still wanted to travel to the capital. Even after returning to the white house. At the end of the speech, we know that the president was still adamant about going to the capital. That is being relayed to me by the tsa agent. We responded back to the white house but the potus motorcade was placed on standby. We were told to standby until they confirmed whether or not the president was going to go to the capitol. I would just estimate 45 minutes to one hour waiting for secret service to make that decision. The motorcade waited at the white house for more than 45 minutes before being released. The committee is also aware that the angry confrontation in the president ial suv circulated by the among the secret Service Since january 6. Recent disclosures have caused the committee to subpoena further information from the secret service which we have begun to receive and will continue to assess. The committee is also aware that certain secret service witnesses have no retained new private counsel. Have no retained new private counsel now retained new private counsel. What you see on the screen is a photo of him inside the oval office. Immediately after returning from the rally, still wearing his overcoat. They informed of the president as soon as he returned to the oval about the riot. Within 15 minutes of leaving the stage, President Trump knew that the capitol was besieged and under attack. From 1 25 until 4 00, the present state in his dining room. Just to give you a sense of where the dining room is situated, lets take a look at this floorplan. The dining room is connected to the oval office by a short hallway. Witnesses told us on january 6, President Trump sat in his usual spot, facing a television hanging on the wall. We know from the employees that the tv tuned in. They are showing coverage of the joint session that was airing that day at 1 25. Other witnesses confirmed that President Trump was in the dining room with the tv on for more than 2. 5 hours. There was no official record of what President Trump did well in the dining room. On the screen is the president ial call log from january 6. As you can see there is no official record of President Trump receiving or placing a call between 11 06 and 6 54 p. M. The president ial daily diary is also silent. There are no photos of President Trump during this critical time during 1 21 and the oval office and when he went outside to the rose garden. The chief white house photographer wanted to take pictures because it was in her words, very important for his archives and for history. She was told no photographs. Despite the lack of photos or an official record, we learned what President Trump was doing while he was watching tv in the dining room. Before we get into that, it is important to understand what he never did that day. Lets watch. Are you aware of any phone calls by the president of the United States to the secretary of defense that day . Not that i am aware of. Are you aware of any phone calls from the president to the attorney general . No. Are you aware of any phone calls to the home and secretary secretary of Homeland Security that day . No. Did you hear him ask for Law Enforcement response . No. As somebody who worked in the National Security state, if there were going to be troops calling for a rally in washington dc, is that something that you would have done . I would have. Do you know if he asked anybody to reach out to any of those that we just listed off . National guard, Homeland Security, secret service, the Capitol Police about the situation at the capital . I am not aware of any of those requests. We have confirmed in numerous interviews, Vice President pence s staff in d. C. Government officials, none of them, not one heard from President Trump that day. He did not call to issue orders, he did not call to offer assistance. We received additional testimony from other witnesses about why the president did not make any effort to quell the attack. The former white house employee with National Security response ability told us about a conversation with the senior advisor. This conversation was about a pending call from the pentagon seeking to coordinate on the response to the attack. He turned and said the president did not want to do anything. So mr. Cipollone had to take the call himself. What did President Trump spent his time doing that afternoon . He was calling senators to encourage them to delay or objection to the certification. Here is his press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany to explain. He is calling this list of senators one by one. Do you know which ones he called . No. I know he wanted a list of the senators and because the president ial call log is empty, we do not know concisely which senators President Trump was calling. What we do now from Rudy Giulianis phone records is that president also called him at 1 39 after he had been told the right was underway at the capital. Mr. Giuliani was President Trumps lead election attorney. The president s call with him lasted about four minutes. Fox news was on in the dining room. Lets take a look at what was airing as this call was ended. Ending. There are tens of thousands, maybe 100,000 or more going to the capital or elsewhere in the city and they are very upset. I jumped down as soon as we heard the news that brett gave you. I said what do you think . An air force veteran said she was disgusted to learn that news and today it was his duty. I said there was nothing in the constitution. She said that does not matter, he should have fought for trump. At 1 49, here is what was happening at the capital with President Trumps fired up supporters. It is a riot. What did President Trump do at 1 49 as the d. C. Police were declaring a right at the capital capitol . He tweeted out a link to his speech in which he knowingly sent an armed mob to the capital. President trump made no comment about the lawlessness and violence. I yelled to the gentleman from illinois yield to the gentleman from illinois. The next action that President Trump took was to tw eet. What happened between these tweets, his staff repeatedly came into the room to see him and pleased that he make a strong Public Statement condemning the violence and instructing them of to live the capital. He did not blend until after 4 00 when he went out film his coho message. When did you first realize his go home message. I found out that people were not in the capital yet. I thought there needed to be a statement that people need to leave the capital now. Pack, you said that you expressed your opinion forcefully. Could you tell us how you did that . I cant talk about conversations with the president but i can say that people need to be told there needs to be a public announcement that they need to leave the capitol. Pat, could you let us know exactly when you said that . Approximately one . Almost when . Almost immediately after i found out that people were approaching the capitol and it was violent. Mark meadows, with respect to his dispute with the president many people suggested it. Many people felt the same way. I am sure i have conversations with mark about this to express my opinion very forcefully. When there were tweets put forth, did you continue at just throughout this time to push for a stronger statement . Yes. Were you joined in that effort by ivanka trump and mark meadows . Yes. I am confident that if ivanka trump wanted there to be a strong statement to condemn the writers rioters. She came to the chief of staff office. She was talking about the speech later that day and trying to get her dad on board with saying something that was more direct then he had wanted to at the time. I remember him getting ivanka involved. I dont think jerry was there jared was there. Of course, pat was expressing the same thing. Pat, like i said, i dont think there was one of these meetings the both of us were going down there, going back. Pat cipollone and Cassidy Hutchinson told us about the hang mike pence chants. Difficult conversations about those chants in the west wing but he relied on executive privilege to retain confidentiality over his and other direct communications with the president. Although he was unwilling to provide more detail, you can see that for yourself. Until mark hung up the phone, handed it back to me, i went back to my desk a couple of minutes later. He and pat came back. I am pretty sure that eric herschel was there. I am confident it was pat that was there. I remember pat saying something to the effect of mark, we are literally calling for the Vice President to be hung. He said he did not think they were doing anything wrong to which said Something Like this is crazy. Do you remember any discussion about members of the capital chanting hang mike pence . I remember hearing about that. I am just curious. Could you share with us what you remember about that discussion . I can tell you my view of that. My view of that is that it is outrageous and for anyone to suggest such a thing, for people in the crowd to be chanting that, i thought it was terrible. I thought it was outrageous and long and i expressed that very clearly. How did the Vice President respond . I believe i raised the concern about the Vice President and the nature of his response was people were doing all they could. What about the president . In addition, mr. Cipollone said testified it would be feasible for President Trump to immediately appear at the podium to address the nation. Would it be possible for the president to walk down to the podium and talk to the nation at any time . Would that have been possible . Yes. It would have been possible. We heard that mr. Cipollone said that President Trump could have gone to the press Briefing Room to issue a statement at any moment. To give you an idea of how simple that would have been, let us show you a map of the west wing. This is at the bottom of the map. The press Briefing Room is highlighted in blue and the rose garden ultimately found his go home video in this rose garden right here. That is highlighted in green. How quickly could the president have gotten on camera in the press Briefing Room to deliver a statement to the nation . As you outlined, it would take less than 60 seconds from the Oval Office Dining Room over to the press Briefing Room and for people who might not know, the Briefing Room is the room where you could see them do a background with the blue backdrop. That camera is on there at all times. If the president wanted to make a statement and address the american people, he could have been on camera almost instantly and conversely, the White House Press corps has offices that are located directly behind the Briefing Room. If he wanted to make an address from the oval office, we cap have could have assembled this in a matter of minutes to do an on camera address. Other witnesses have given us the views on that question. For example, some staff were concerned that a appearance by the president at the microphones at that moment could actually make matters worse. He told us he recommended against doing a press conference because during his four years in the trump administration, there wasnt a single press conference we have had. Presented advisors were worried about what he would say in unscripted comments. I yelled to the gentlewoman from virginia yield to the gentlewoman from virginia. Personally, i recall being evacuated from the House Office Building where we were sitting before this time. It was due to the discovery of two pipe bombs in a nearby building. Around the same time, you were watching the violence unfold on television and social media with colleagues. Including with ben williamson. You told us that before President Trump sent his next week at 2 24, mr. Williamson went up to see esther meadows. Why did you both to that mr. Meadows. Why did you both do that . We both recognized that the situation was escalating quickly and that the president needed to be out there immediately to tell these people to go home and condemned the violence that we are seeing. I told him that i was going to make that recommendation and he said he was going to make the same recommendation to the chief of staff, mark meadows. One of your colleagues also want to see went to see Kayleigh Mcenany at that time. Lets hear what they said. It appears that individuals are storming the u. S. Capitol building. They also appear to be supporters of donald who may have been in attendance at the rally. We are going to need to say something. Do you have a view of what is going on at the white house . If i recall, i told kaylee that i thought we needed to encourage individuals to stop, to respect Law Enforcement and to go home. Although President Trump was aware of the ongoing riot, he did not take any immediate action to address the lawlessness. Instead, at 2 03, he called Rudy Giuliani again and that call lasted for over eight minutes. At 2 13, rioters broke into the Capitol Building itself. They smashed a window and rioters floated into the building flooded into the building. As rioters entered the building a meeting was held with mike pence as they worked to clear a path through the crowd. Rioters got within feet of where the Vice President was held. If we lose any more time, we may lose the ability to leave so if we are going to leave, we need to go now. They gained access to the second floor and they are about five feet from me down below. They are on the second floor, moving in now. We may want to consider getting out and leaving now. Account for any individuals if we made our way through here. There are officers that are there are people that are five to 10 feet away from me. We need to clear this out. Is that route compromised . It is insecure. Some protesters are being contained but there is smoke, unknown what kind of smoke it is. We are coming out now. Make awa a way. The president s National Security Council Staff was listening to these developments and tracking them in real time. On the screen you can see excerpts from the chat logs among the president s National Security Council Staff. At 2 13, the staff learned that the ruio rioters were kicking in the windows of the capitol. The Vice President was being pulled. The secret Service Agents at the capitol did not sound good right now. You heard from a security professional that was working at the white house complex on january 6. With the responsibility to report to National Security, we asked this person what was meant by the comment that the secret Service Agents did not sound good right now . Following the testimony, the professionals discuss what they heard from listening to the incoming radio traffic that the capitol does not sound good right now. Correct. What does that mean . Members of the d cpd of this time were worried for their lives. There was a lot of yelling. A lot of personal calls. There were calls to say goodbye to family members, whatever the reason was on the ground, the d. C. Pd felt that it was going to be very ugly. And when you said that over the radio, what was the response . s at that point it was just reassurances, there was talk of reinforcements coming. It was getting very ugly. What prompted you to put into an entry. We were running out of options, we were getting nervous. We were getting close to needing to use the legal options, or worse. Was the pd compromised, we didnt know. If they were screaming and saying things like saying goodbye to family this next video shows, the rioters anger was focused primarily on Vice President mike pence. This woman came up to the side of us and she says, pencil folded pence fo. Pence folded. In my mind i was thinking, that is it. My soninlaw looks at me and says, i want to go in. What percentage of the crowd is going into the capital . 100 . They betrayed us, all one million of us are marching on the capitol. It is insane. What happened . Mike pence has did people appear angry as you walk to the capitol . Yes a lot of people appeared upset. People were screaming all types of stuff. They were mad, Vice President pence was going to accept the electorals. I believe that Vice President pence was going to certified the electoral votes or not certified them, the position changed. Its a big disappointment. There are 700,000 people here who are very disappointed. President trump did not try to call did not try to calm his supporters. At the same moment that the riot was getting out of hand, he sent his 224 00 tweet. The president said, Vice President pence President Trump called Vice President pence a coward and placed all the blame on him for not turning when we ask you about your reaction to seeing 224 00 suite in realtime, you used the same imagery to describe it. You made the decision to resign after seeing this tweet, could you please tell us why . Yes. That was shortly after id gone back to the white house. I began to see, for the first time, those images on the tv of the chaos that was unfolding at the capital. One of my aids handed me a one of my aides handed me a sheet of paper. I was quite disturbed by it. I was disturbed and worried that the president was attacking Vice President hence Vice President for trying to do his duty. We needed at that moment was a deescalation. It looked like fuel being poured on the fire. That is the moment i decided i would resign. It would be my last day at the white house. I simply did not want to be associated with the events that were unfolding at the capitol. What was your reaction to the tweet about Vice President pence . The situation at the capitol was violent and escalating quickly. I felt that the tweet about the Vice President was the last thing that was needed in the moment. I remember thinking that it was going to be bad for him to tweet this, because it was potentially giving the green light to these people. Telling them that what they were doing by entering the capitol was ok and that they were justified in their anger. He shouldnt have been doing that, he should of told people to go home and leave and condemned the violence that we were seeing. I am someone who worked with him, i worked on the campaign, i traveled around the country going to countless rallies with him. I see what his i see the impact that his words have on his supporters. They latch onto every tweet and word that he says. I think at that moment for him to tweet out about Vice President mike pence was him pouring gasoline on the fire and making it much worse. Thank you, both. Lets watch others speak about their reaction to that tweet. My reaction to it was that it was a terrible tweet, i disagreed with the sentiment. I thought it was wrong. What was your reaction when you saw that tweet . Extremely unhelpful. Why . It wasnt the message that we needed at that time. It wasnt going to the seeds at the u. S. Capitol were only getting worse at that point. This was not going to help that. Would you say it was making it worse . Certainly. What was your reaction when you saw this tweet . As a staffer that works to always represent the ministration to the best of my ability represent the administration to the best of my ability and to showcase the good things he had done for the country, i robber feeling frustrated, disappointed i remember feeling frustrated, disappointed, it felt personal and i was sad. As an american, i was disgusted. It was unpatriotic, it was unamerican. We were watching the Capitol Building be defaced over a lie. As you will see, at 2 26, the Vice President had to be evacuated to safety a second time when he came within 40 feet of the rioters. [shouting] [shouting] while the Vice President was being evacuated from the senate, President Trump called tupper ville senator tuberville. Lets listen. He i told him, mr. President , we are doing much work right now because they sent the Vice President off. I need to hang up on you. I need to leave. Mr. Josh hawley also had to flee. Earlier that afternoon he walked across the east of the capital capitol. As you can see he raised his fist, with the protesters at the gate. Hollys gesture growled up the crowd, and it bothered her greatly because he was doing it in a safe space protected by the officers and the barrier. Later that day, senator hawley fled after those protesters he helped to rile up storm to the capitol. See for yourself. Stormed the capitol. See for yourself. Think about what we have seen. Undeniable violence at the capitol. The Vice President being evacuated to safety by the secret service. Senators running through the hallways to get through them to get away from the mom. Mob. Do you believe, jared, that the president has the obligation to ensure the peaceful transition of power . Yes. Do you think the president has the obligation to defend all three branches of our government . I believe so. I assume, you also would agree that the president has a particular obligation that all of the laws be faithfully executed. That is one of the president s obligations, correct. There is a constitutional duty. He is the commander in chief. That was my Biggest Issue with him as National Security advisor. Rather than uphold his duty to the constitution, President Trump allowed the mob to achieve the delay that he hoped would keep him in power. I reserve. I ask that those remain seated until the witnesses and members have been escorted from the room. I now recess for 10 minutes. [indistinct chatter]
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