What Today's January 6 Hearing Could Reveal About Trump

The ninth and possible final hearing from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack will take place later on Thursday, with the panel further hoping to shed light regarding the former president's actions on the day of the Capitol riot.

The panel's latest presentation will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time having been postponed from September 29 because of Hurricane Ian.

It is reported that the presentation will further reveal Trump's "state of mind" on January 6, as well as present further evidence that he purposely riled up his supporters to storm the Capitol, and then made no effort to call off the violence as part of an attempt to cling onto power.

Among some of the new evidence the panel will reveal on Thursday will include Secret Service emails and records showing Trump was made aware of the potential of violence breaking out on January 6, but he still ordered his supporters to march to the Capitol.

According to The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, law enforcement had spotted how some Trump supporters watching his speech at the Ellipse that day were in possession of plastic shields, bulletproof vests and other paramilitary gear.

The Secret Service had also expressed concern that some of the supporters were armed and they avoided getting too close to the stage at the Ellipse so they would not have to go through security and have their weapons confiscated.

Emails are also said to reveal that White House staff members were warning Trump about the risk of violence that day, but he still demanded that Secret Service agents take him to the Capitol to join his supporters as the rioting was breaking out.

Soon after hearing about the violence, Trump tweeted that then Vice President Mike Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done" by stopping the 2020 Election results from certified, with a purely ceremonial role as presiding officer of the Senate, which the panel may use as evidence the former president was further inciting his supporters.

The newly obtained Secret Service records echo the previous claims from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.

During her June testimony, Hutchinson said Trump was aware his supporters at the "stop the steal" protests in Washington, D.C. on January 6 were armed, but still told them to march to the Capitol.

Hutchinson also claimed that Trump was so angry at not being able to join his supporters at the Capitol as the riot was unfolding that he tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limousine and then lunged at a Secret Service agent who restrained him.

The panel is hoping to use Thursday's hearing to wrap up and remind the American public of Trump's actions and intent on the day of the January 6 attack, and how he continues to pose a threat to democracy.

Unlike previous hearings, Thursday's presentation will not feature live witness testimony.

"We're going to bring a particular focus on the former president's state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded," a committee aide told reporters Wednesday, reported The Hill.

"So what you're going to see is a synthesis of some evidence we've already presented with that new, never-before-seen information to illustrate Donald Trump's centrality from the time prior to the election."

Thursday's hearing is also reported to feature clips of longtime Trump-ally Roger Stone, filmed over the course of three years by Danish documentary makers.

After Thursday's hearing, the panel will then draw up its report, which may include a formal recommendation for the Department of Justice to indict Trump for his actions on January 6 and attempts to overturn the 2020 Election.

However, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said that so far, the panel has mainly been presenting "scenic detours" rather than enough evidence for the DoJ to bring forward unprecedented criminal charges against a former president.

"The committee's work has largely been political theater and all they can do is recommend that the DOJ file charges against Trump," Rahmani told Newsweek.

"They cannot force the DOJ to charge Trump because Congress, under the Constitution, has very little power to enforce the law."

Civil rights attorney James DeSimone added that a better result from the committee's hearings may be bringing in new laws to protect American democracy from coming under attack again, rather than specifically indicting Trump.

"Whether Trump is ultimately prosecuted or not is less important than making bipartisan legislative changes so there is no way for a self-styled autocrat to misappropriate the will of the people," DeSimone told Newsweek.