Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee holds another public hearing Monday — this time focused on the “big lie” pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies — that the committee says fueled those who attacked the Capitol.

The main witness scheduled was Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, but the committee said Monday morning the hearing would be postponed due to a family emergency.

This is how the hearing is unfolding. All times Eastern:

Jun 13, 12:58 pm
Hearing gavels out

After about two hours, Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled out the House select committee’s second hearing this month meant to unveil their findings from an 11-month long investigation that found Trump at the center of a “multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the presidential election.”

Monday’s hearing used video testimony from Trump’s inner circle to focus on how he and his campaign pushed the “big lie” to millions of supporters after the election, and even fundraised millions off the claim, despite knowing he lost.

In one explosive clip, Trump Attorney General Bill Barr described his thinking on Trump in the weeks after the election, saying, “Boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has lost contact with – he’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff.’”

Jun 13, 12:56 pm
Cheney previews hearings to come

Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in her closing statement, previewed what Americans can expect to learn in the hearings to come, saying Monday’s hearing was “very narrowly focused,” but in the coming days, the committee will move on to Trump’s “broader planning for January 6.”

“Let me leave you today with one clip to preview what you will see in one of our hearings to come,” Cheney said. “This is the testimony of White House lawyer Eric Herschmann. John Eastman called Mr. Herschmann the day after January 6, and here is how that conversation went.”

“I said to him, are you out of your [expletive] mind? Right?” Herschmann recalled. “I said I only want to hear two words coming out of your mouth from now on: ‘Orderly transition.'”

Jun 13, 12:52 pm
Philadelphia election official details threats against him, family after Trump tweet

Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia, recounted to the committee receiving threats for pushing back on Trump’s false election claims in Pennsylvania.

Trump called out Schmidt by name in a Twitter post on Nov. 11, 2020, stating Schmidt was a “Republican in name only” who refused to “look at a mountain of corruption and dishonesty.”

Schmidt said he received general threats before Trump’s tweet, but after the post the threats became “much more graphic” and were targeted not only at him but also members of his family.

The committee showed messages Schmidt and his family received, including one that read: “Heads on spikes. Treasonous Schmidts.”

Jun 13, 12:41 pm
Election officials in key states debunk Trump’s fraud claims

After the second panel of witnesses was sworn in, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., started questioning Byung “Bjay” Pak, who served as U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia during the Trump administration and was appointed by Trump.

Pak said Attorney General Bill Barr “asked me to find out what I could” about claims of voter fraud in Georgia raised by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a public hearing, but said both he and his successor were “unable to find any evidence of fraud which affected the outcome of the election.”

Lofgren then questioned Al Schmidt, the former GOP city commissioner who supervised the 2020 election in Philadelphia, about investigating claims about thousands of dead people voting in Philadelphia.

“Not only was there no evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania — there was not even evidence of eight,” Schmidt said.

Jun 13, 12:27 pm
Hearing gavels in for second panel of GOP witnesses

Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled the hearing back in shortly after 12:15 p.m. for the second panel of witnesses.

The three witnesses are Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state, Ben Ginsberg, a veteran GOP election lawyer, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia and Trump appointee.

Jun 13, 12:25 pm
New witness confirmed for Wednesday’s hearing

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., confirmed publicly that Rich Donoghue, a former acting Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department, will testify in person before the committee. ABC News has previously reported he was in talks to testify.

Donoghue will appear in Wednesday’s hearing that will focus on Trump’s “pressure” campaign against the Justice Department to investigate fraud, as vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney announced in last week’s hearing.

Chairman Bennie Thompson called a 10-minute recess for the committee’s Monday hearing shortly after noon.

Jun 13, 12:07 pm
Barr recalls being concerned Trump had become ‘detached from reality’

The committee played a video of Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr recalling his December meeting with Trump after he told a media outlet that there was no evidence of election fraud.

“The president was as mad as I’ve ever seen him, and he was trying to control himself,” Barr recalled. Trump said, “‘You didn’t have to say this, you must’ve said this because you hate Trump.'”

“I thought, boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has lost contact with — he’s become detached from reality,” Barr said, adding, “There was never any indication in interest in what the actual facts were.”

“I felt that before the election, it was possible to talk sense to the president. And while you sometimes had to engage in, you know, a big wrestling match with him, that it was possible to keep things on track. But I was — felt that after the election he didn’t seem to be listening,” Barr recalled. “And I didn’t think it was—you know, that I was inclined not to stay around if he wasn’t listening to advice from me or the Cabinet secretaries.”

Jun 13, 12:05 pm
Barr recounts telling Trump election fraud claims ‘not panning out’

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D- Calif., teed up several clips of then-Attorney General Bill Barr describing his meeting with Trump in late November about election fraud, noting how “even after [Barr] told him his claims of election fraud were false, President Trump continued to promote these false claims.”

“I said,” Barr recalled, “the department doesn’t take sides in elections, and the department is not an extension of your legal team. And our role is to investigate fraud, and we’ll look at something if it’s specific, credible, and could’ve affected the outcome of the election. And we’re doing that, and it’s just not — they’re just not meritorious. They’re not panning out.”

After that meeting, Barr said Meadows told him Trump “was becoming more realistic,” and Kushner said “we’re working on this.”

Jun 13, 11:56 am
‘Team Normal’ vs. Rudy Giuliani

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D- Calif., said Trump became “frustrated” when briefed on his slim chances to win the election and began to shake up his campaign’s legal team.

Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien said Trump’s unhappiness “paved the way” for Rudy Giuliani to become more influential in the post-election strategy to spread false claims of widespread fraud.

“There were two groups,” Stepien said. “We called them my team and Rudy’s team. I didn’t mind being categorized as ‘Team Normal’ as reporters started to do at that point in time.”

Trump’s White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told the committee he thought the arguments being made by Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others were “nuts.”

Jun 13, 11:43 am
Former Fox News political editor explains ‘red mirage’

Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending his decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden, explained the “red mirage” phenomenon to the committee: how a GOP lead on same-day voting was expected to shrink as Democrat-leaning absentee and mail-in votes were counted.

“Basically, in every election, Republicans win Election Day, and Democrats win the early vote,” he explained. “So, every election, certainly in a national election, you expect to see the Republican with a lead, but it is not really a lead.”

Stepien, in videotaped testimony, recalled briefing the president on the “red mirage” phenomenon, adding, “I always told the president of the truth.”

“I told him it was going to be a process,” he said. “We will have to wait and see how this turns out. Just like I did in 2016, I did the same thing in 2020.”

Stepien also recalled a meeting with Trump and attended by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in the summer of 2020, where they tried to persuade Trump to encourage supporters to vote by mail, but, “The president’s mind was made up,” Stepien said.

Jun 13, 11:31 am
Ivanka Trump, key witnesses describe election night atmosphere

Chairman Bennie Thompson played a video compilation of witnesses describing the scene at the White House on election night after Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden, using testimony from Trump’s daughter Ivanka, campaign manager Bill Stepien, and attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Ivanka Trump told the committee in her videotaped deposition she didn’t have a “firm view” of what Trump should have said the night of the election.

Stepien told the committee he recalled Rudy Guiliani “was looking to talk to the president” and said that Trump “disagreed” with the assessment that he should not declare victory right then.

Jason Miller, a Trump campaign spokesman, told investigators that “the mayor was definitely intoxicated” and recalled that he was pushing for Trump to declare victory.

“Effectively, Mayor Giuliani was saying we won it,” Miller said, “and essentially that anyone who didn’t agree to that was being weak.”

Vice chair Liz Cheney, hitting on that point, added, “President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night, and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani.”

Jun 13, 11:28 am
Trump advisers warned him not to declare victory on election night

“It was far too early to be making any calls like that,” Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien told the committee in his video deposition. “Ballots were still being counted, ballots were still going to be counted for days.”

Ivanka Trump also told the committee that it was becoming clear the race would not be called that night.

“To the best of my memory, I was saying that we should not go with declare victory until we had a better sense of the numbers,” former top Trump aide Jason Miller said in his videotaped interview.

Stepien and Miller said it was former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani who pressured Trump to claim victory. Miller alleged that Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” at the time.

The committee then aired a snippet of Trump’s speech on election night, in which he told the crowd: “We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this.”

Jun 13, 11:21 am
‘Big lie was also a big ripoff:’ Lawmaker previews fundraising efforts

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the committee will demonstrate that Trump and his closest advisers knew his claims of election fraud were false, but continued to peddle them anyway, and even fundraised off those claims which “rioters later used to justify attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6.”

“We will also show that the Trump campaign used these false claims of election fraud to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were told the donations were for the legal fight in the courts. But the Trump campaign didn’t use the money for that,” she said.

“‘The big lie’ was also a big ripoff,” Lofgren added, going on to use video of Trump to argue that he “laid the groundwork for these false claims well in advance of the election.”

Jun 13, 11:11 am
Cheney lays out ‘three points’ to establish Trump aware he lost

Using video testimony, vice chair Liz Cheney said the committee will show how Trump and his campaign knew the election was lost but continued to espouse the “big lie,” laying out three points to focus on.

“First, you will hear firsthand testimony that the president’s campaign advisers urged him to await the counting of votes and not to declare victory on election night. The president understood, even before the election, that many more Biden voters had voted by mail because President Trump ignored the advice of his campaign experts and told his supporters only to vote in person,” she said, attempting to illustrate Trump was aware.

“Second, pay attention to what Donald Trump and his legal team said repeatedly about Dominion voting machines,” Cheney said, calling them “Far-flung conspiracies with deceased Venezuelan communists allegedly pulling the strings,” which even Trump Attorney General Bill Barr and White House lawyer Eric Herschmann didn’t believe.

“And third, as Mike Pence’s staff started to get a sense for what Donald Trump had planned for January 6, they called the campaign experts to give them a briefing on election fraud and all the other election claims,” she said. “On January 2nd, the general counsel of the Trump campaign, Matthew Morgan — this is a campaign’s chief lawyer — summarized what the campaign had concluded weeks earlier, that none of the arguments about fraud or anything else could actually change the outcome of the election.”

Jun 13, 11:04 am
Trump White House lawyer debunks conspiracy about Dominion voting machines

Committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., shared deposition testimony from former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann on the former president’s claims that Dominion voting machines were compromised.

“I never saw any evidence whatsoever to sustain those allegations,” Herschmann told the committee.

Cheney claimed that Herschmann’s view was shared by many in the Trump team that the committee interviewed.

Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread baseless claims that their voting machines “stole” votes.

Jun 13, 10:57 am
Chairman outlines how Trump ‘knew he lost’

Chairman Bennie Thompson said Monday’s hearing would use evidence to show how Trump lost the election but “ignored the will of the voters” and “lied to his supporters” in an effort to remain in office.

“This morning, we will tell the story of how Donald Trump lost an election and knew he lost an election, and as a result of his loss, decided to wage an attack on our democracy — an attack on the American people by trying to rob you of your voice in our democracy,” Thompson said.

“And in doing so lit the fuse that lead to horrific violence of January 6, when a mob of his supporters storm the capital sent by Donald Trump to stop the transfer of power,” Thompson added. “Today, my colleague from California, Ms. Lofgren, and our witnesses will detail the select committee’s findings on these matters.”

Jun 13, 10:48 am
Hearing underway after short delay

After a 45-minute delay, the House select committee has kicked off its second public hearing this month.

The committee today will focus on Trump’s push of the “big lie” despite knowing he lost the election to Joe Biden. Last week, committee members began laying out their case against the former president, placing him in the center of what it described as an “attempted coup.”

Jun 13, 10:46 am
Stepien’s attorney gives glimpse into deposition testimony

Bill Stepien’s attorney Kevin Marino confirmed to reporters that Stepien planned to appear before the committee this morning but then learned his wife went into labor. Marino said it’s his understanding that video testimony of Stepien from a previously taped deposition will be aired during the hearing.

Marino called Stepien “one of the finest political consultants in the country.”

“You’re going to hear that he followed the numbers, followed the data, and advised the president as to what he saw,” Marino said.

Jun 13, 10:27 am
Former Fox News editor explains decision to testify in blog post

Former Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt, who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night, has written a blog post for The Dispatch, a right-leaning politics website, explaining why he agreed to testify before the Jan. 6 committee.

“I’m still not entirely sure what I will say or what may happen, and don’t want to close any doors or create any expectations. I had a pretty good perch for the 2020 election and was part of the best decision desk in the news business on election night,” he said. “I’m still so proud of the work we did — we beat the competition and stuck the landing. All I can do is tell the truth about my work and hope for the best.”

Jun 13, 10:22 am
Wife of key witness went into labor Monday morning

Former Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien told the House select committee that his wife went into labor this morning, according to two sources briefed on the matter, explaining the family emergency that caused him to cancel his live appearance before the committee.

Stepien previously sat for a taped deposition before the committee, and vice chair Liz Cheney told reporters to expect video excerpts of that deposition played Monday.

Jun 13, 10:20 am
Cheney promises ‘important and effective’ hearings despite losing key witness

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the committee, told reporters to prepare for a substantial hearing despite Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien having to drop out from testifying live at the last minute due to a family emergency.

“We’re going to have a very important and effective set of hearings. As you know, Mr. Stepien has appeared previously, and so we’ll be able to provide the American people with a lot of interesting new and important information that Mr. Stephens provided to us previously,” Cheney said.

She also confirmed the committee will show video of Stepien’s interview.

Jun 13, 9:48 am
Hearing to focus on Trump pushing ‘big lie’

In previewing Monday’s hearing, which will be guided in part by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., House select committee aides said members would focus on how Trump and his campaign pushed the ‘big lie’ to millions of supporters after the election, despite knowing he lost.

The questioning of live witnesses, along with clips of interviews the committee videotaped with other key witnesses, will show how Trump was told he had lost the election and lacked evidence of widespread voter fraud but continued to claim the election was stolen from him, aides told reporters on Sunday night.

The committee hearing will show “how litigation to challenge elections usually works,” and argue that Trump had an “obligation” to “abide by the rule of law” when his dozens of lawsuits failed in courts across the country, they said.

Jun 13, 9:40 am
Live witnesses slated for Monday

Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien will no longer testify live on Monday, citing a family emergency, but the committee will still hear from several live witnesses.

Chris Stirewalt, the former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night, is scheduled to testify this morning.

A second panel of witnesses includes Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state; veteran GOP election lawyer Ben Ginsburg, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Pak previously told Senate investigators he resigned in January 2021 after learning Trump sought to fire him over not doing more to amplify his false claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia.

Jun 13, 9:21 am
Hearing delayed

The House select committee has delayed its 10 a.m. start time Monday, citing a family emergency for witness Bill Stepien, former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, who will no longer testify.

“Due to a family emergency, Mr. William Stepien is unable to testify before the Select Committee this morning. His counsel will appear and make a statement on the record,” the committee said in a statement. “The hearing will convene approximately 30 to 45 minutes after the previously announced 10:00am start time.”

Stepien had been subpoenaed to testify on Monday.

The committee said his counsel will appear and make a statement on the record.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee holds another public hearing Monday — this time focused on the “big lie” pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies — that the committee says fueled those who attacked the Capitol.

The main witness scheduled was Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, but the committee said Monday morning the hearing would be postponed due to a family emergency.

This is how the hearing is unfolding. All times Eastern:

Jun 13, 12:58 pm
Hearing gavels out

After about two hours, Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled out the House select committee’s second hearing this month meant to unveil their findings from an 11-month long investigation that found Trump at the center of a “multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the presidential election.”

Monday’s hearing used video testimony from Trump’s inner circle to focus on how he and his campaign pushed the “big lie” to millions of supporters after the election, and even fundraised millions off the claim, despite knowing he lost.

In one explosive clip, Trump Attorney General Bill Barr described his thinking on Trump in the weeks after the election, saying, “Boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has lost contact with – he’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff.’”

Jun 13, 12:56 pm
Cheney previews hearings to come

Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in her closing statement, previewed what Americans can expect to learn in the hearings to come, saying Monday’s hearing was “very narrowly focused,” but in the coming days, the committee will move on to Trump’s “broader planning for January 6.”

“Let me leave you today with one clip to preview what you will see in one of our hearings to come,” Cheney said. “This is the testimony of White House lawyer Eric Herschmann. John Eastman called Mr. Herschmann the day after January 6, and here is how that conversation went.”

“I said to him, are you out of your [expletive] mind? Right?” Herschmann recalled. “I said I only want to hear two words coming out of your mouth from now on: ‘Orderly transition.'”

Jun 13, 12:52 pm
Philadelphia election official details threats against him, family after Trump tweet

Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia, recounted to the committee receiving threats for pushing back on Trump’s false election claims in Pennsylvania.

Trump called out Schmidt by name in a Twitter post on Nov. 11, 2020, stating Schmidt was a “Republican in name only” who refused to “look at a mountain of corruption and dishonesty.”

Schmidt said he received general threats before Trump’s tweet, but after the post the threats became “much more graphic” and were targeted not only at him but also members of his family.

The committee showed messages Schmidt and his family received, including one that read: “Heads on spikes. Treasonous Schmidts.”

Jun 13, 12:41 pm
Election officials in key states debunk Trump’s fraud claims

After the second panel of witnesses was sworn in, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., started questioning Byung “Bjay” Pak, who served as U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia during the Trump administration and was appointed by Trump.

Pak said Attorney General Bill Barr “asked me to find out what I could” about claims of voter fraud in Georgia raised by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a public hearing, but said both he and his successor were “unable to find any evidence of fraud which affected the outcome of the election.”

Lofgren then questioned Al Schmidt, the former GOP city commissioner who supervised the 2020 election in Philadelphia, about investigating claims about thousands of dead people voting in Philadelphia.

“Not only was there no evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania — there was not even evidence of eight,” Schmidt said.

Jun 13, 12:27 pm
Hearing gavels in for second panel of GOP witnesses

Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled the hearing back in shortly after 12:15 p.m. for the second panel of witnesses.

The three witnesses are Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state, Ben Ginsberg, a veteran GOP election lawyer, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia and Trump appointee.

Jun 13, 12:25 pm
New witness confirmed for Wednesday’s hearing

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., confirmed publicly that Rich Donoghue, a former acting Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department, will testify in person before the committee. ABC News has previously reported he was in talks to testify.

Donoghue will appear in Wednesday’s hearing that will focus on Trump’s “pressure” campaign against the Justice Department to investigate fraud, as vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney announced in last week’s hearing.

Chairman Bennie Thompson called a 10-minute recess for the committee’s Monday hearing shortly after noon.

Jun 13, 12:07 pm
Barr recalls being concerned Trump had become ‘detached from reality’

The committee played a video of Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr recalling his December meeting with Trump after he told a media outlet that there was no evidence of election fraud.

“The president was as mad as I’ve ever seen him, and he was trying to control himself,” Barr recalled. Trump said, “‘You didn’t have to say this, you must’ve said this because you hate Trump.'”

“I thought, boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has lost contact with — he’s become detached from reality,” Barr said, adding, “There was never any indication in interest in what the actual facts were.”

“I felt that before the election, it was possible to talk sense to the president. And while you sometimes had to engage in, you know, a big wrestling match with him, that it was possible to keep things on track. But I was — felt that after the election he didn’t seem to be listening,” Barr recalled. “And I didn’t think it was—you know, that I was inclined not to stay around if he wasn’t listening to advice from me or the Cabinet secretaries.”

Jun 13, 12:05 pm
Barr recounts telling Trump election fraud claims ‘not panning out’

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D- Calif., teed up several clips of then-Attorney General Bill Barr describing his meeting with Trump in late November about election fraud, noting how “even after [Barr] told him his claims of election fraud were false, President Trump continued to promote these false claims.”

“I said,” Barr recalled, “the department doesn’t take sides in elections, and the department is not an extension of your legal team. And our role is to investigate fraud, and we’ll look at something if it’s specific, credible, and could’ve affected the outcome of the election. And we’re doing that, and it’s just not — they’re just not meritorious. They’re not panning out.”

After that meeting, Barr said Meadows told him Trump “was becoming more realistic,” and Kushner said “we’re working on this.”

Jun 13, 11:56 am
‘Team Normal’ vs. Rudy Giuliani

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D- Calif., said Trump became “frustrated” when briefed on his slim chances to win the election and began to shake up his campaign’s legal team.

Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien said Trump’s unhappiness “paved the way” for Rudy Giuliani to become more influential in the post-election strategy to spread false claims of widespread fraud.

“There were two groups,” Stepien said. “We called them my team and Rudy’s team. I didn’t mind being categorized as ‘Team Normal’ as reporters started to do at that point in time.”

Trump’s White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told the committee he thought the arguments being made by Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others were “nuts.”

Jun 13, 11:43 am
Former Fox News political editor explains ‘red mirage’

Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending his decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden, explained the “red mirage” phenomenon to the committee: how a GOP lead on same-day voting was expected to shrink as Democrat-leaning absentee and mail-in votes were counted.

“Basically, in every election, Republicans win Election Day, and Democrats win the early vote,” he explained. “So, every election, certainly in a national election, you expect to see the Republican with a lead, but it is not really a lead.”

Stepien, in videotaped testimony, recalled briefing the president on the “red mirage” phenomenon, adding, “I always told the president of the truth.”

“I told him it was going to be a process,” he said. “We will have to wait and see how this turns out. Just like I did in 2016, I did the same thing in 2020.”

Stepien also recalled a meeting with Trump and attended by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in the summer of 2020, where they tried to persuade Trump to encourage supporters to vote by mail, but, “The president’s mind was made up,” Stepien said.

Jun 13, 11:31 am
Ivanka Trump, key witnesses describe election night atmosphere

Chairman Bennie Thompson played a video compilation of witnesses describing the scene at the White House on election night after Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden, using testimony from Trump’s daughter Ivanka, campaign manager Bill Stepien, and attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Ivanka Trump told the committee in her videotaped deposition she didn’t have a “firm view” of what Trump should have said the night of the election.

Stepien told the committee he recalled Rudy Guiliani “was looking to talk to the president” and said that Trump “disagreed” with the assessment that he should not declare victory right then.

Jason Miller, a Trump campaign spokesman, told investigators that “the mayor was definitely intoxicated” and recalled that he was pushing for Trump to declare victory.

“Effectively, Mayor Giuliani was saying we won it,” Miller said, “and essentially that anyone who didn’t agree to that was being weak.”

Vice chair Liz Cheney, hitting on that point, added, “President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night, and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani.”

Jun 13, 11:28 am
Trump advisers warned him not to declare victory on election night

“It was far too early to be making any calls like that,” Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien told the committee in his video deposition. “Ballots were still being counted, ballots were still going to be counted for days.”

Ivanka Trump also told the committee that it was becoming clear the race would not be called that night.

“To the best of my memory, I was saying that we should not go with declare victory until we had a better sense of the numbers,” former top Trump aide Jason Miller said in his videotaped interview.

Stepien and Miller said it was former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani who pressured Trump to claim victory. Miller alleged that Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” at the time.

The committee then aired a snippet of Trump’s speech on election night, in which he told the crowd: “We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this.”

Jun 13, 11:21 am
‘Big lie was also a big ripoff:’ Lawmaker previews fundraising efforts

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the committee will demonstrate that Trump and his closest advisers knew his claims of election fraud were false, but continued to peddle them anyway, and even fundraised off those claims which “rioters later used to justify attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6.”

“We will also show that the Trump campaign used these false claims of election fraud to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were told the donations were for the legal fight in the courts. But the Trump campaign didn’t use the money for that,” she said.

“‘The big lie’ was also a big ripoff,” Lofgren added, going on to use video of Trump to argue that he “laid the groundwork for these false claims well in advance of the election.”

Jun 13, 11:11 am
Cheney lays out ‘three points’ to establish Trump aware he lost

Using video testimony, vice chair Liz Cheney said the committee will show how Trump and his campaign knew the election was lost but continued to espouse the “big lie,” laying out three points to focus on.

“First, you will hear firsthand testimony that the president’s campaign advisers urged him to await the counting of votes and not to declare victory on election night. The president understood, even before the election, that many more Biden voters had voted by mail because President Trump ignored the advice of his campaign experts and told his supporters only to vote in person,” she said, attempting to illustrate Trump was aware.

“Second, pay attention to what Donald Trump and his legal team said repeatedly about Dominion voting machines,” Cheney said, calling them “Far-flung conspiracies with deceased Venezuelan communists allegedly pulling the strings,” which even Trump Attorney General Bill Barr and White House lawyer Eric Herschmann didn’t believe.

“And third, as Mike Pence’s staff started to get a sense for what Donald Trump had planned for January 6, they called the campaign experts to give them a briefing on election fraud and all the other election claims,” she said. “On January 2nd, the general counsel of the Trump campaign, Matthew Morgan — this is a campaign’s chief lawyer — summarized what the campaign had concluded weeks earlier, that none of the arguments about fraud or anything else could actually change the outcome of the election.”

Jun 13, 11:04 am
Trump White House lawyer debunks conspiracy about Dominion voting machines

Committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., shared deposition testimony from former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann on the former president’s claims that Dominion voting machines were compromised.

“I never saw any evidence whatsoever to sustain those allegations,” Herschmann told the committee.

Cheney claimed that Herschmann’s view was shared by many in the Trump team that the committee interviewed.

Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread baseless claims that their voting machines “stole” votes.

Jun 13, 10:57 am
Chairman outlines how Trump ‘knew he lost’

Chairman Bennie Thompson said Monday’s hearing would use evidence to show how Trump lost the election but “ignored the will of the voters” and “lied to his supporters” in an effort to remain in office.

“This morning, we will tell the story of how Donald Trump lost an election and knew he lost an election, and as a result of his loss, decided to wage an attack on our democracy — an attack on the American people by trying to rob you of your voice in our democracy,” Thompson said.

“And in doing so lit the fuse that lead to horrific violence of January 6, when a mob of his supporters storm the capital sent by Donald Trump to stop the transfer of power,” Thompson added. “Today, my colleague from California, Ms. Lofgren, and our witnesses will detail the select committee’s findings on these matters.”

Jun 13, 10:48 am
Hearing underway after short delay

After a 45-minute delay, the House select committee has kicked off its second public hearing this month.

The committee today will focus on Trump’s push of the “big lie” despite knowing he lost the election to Joe Biden. Last week, committee members began laying out their case against the former president, placing him in the center of what it described as an “attempted coup.”

Jun 13, 10:46 am
Stepien’s attorney gives glimpse into deposition testimony

Bill Stepien’s attorney Kevin Marino confirmed to reporters that Stepien planned to appear before the committee this morning but then learned his wife went into labor. Marino said it’s his understanding that video testimony of Stepien from a previously taped deposition will be aired during the hearing.

Marino called Stepien “one of the finest political consultants in the country.”

“You’re going to hear that he followed the numbers, followed the data, and advised the president as to what he saw,” Marino said.

Jun 13, 10:27 am
Former Fox News editor explains decision to testify in blog post

Former Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt, who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night, has written a blog post for The Dispatch, a right-leaning politics website, explaining why he agreed to testify before the Jan. 6 committee.

“I’m still not entirely sure what I will say or what may happen, and don’t want to close any doors or create any expectations. I had a pretty good perch for the 2020 election and was part of the best decision desk in the news business on election night,” he said. “I’m still so proud of the work we did — we beat the competition and stuck the landing. All I can do is tell the truth about my work and hope for the best.”

Jun 13, 10:22 am
Wife of key witness went into labor Monday morning

Former Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien told the House select committee that his wife went into labor this morning, according to two sources briefed on the matter, explaining the family emergency that caused him to cancel his live appearance before the committee.

Stepien previously sat for a taped deposition before the committee, and vice chair Liz Cheney told reporters to expect video excerpts of that deposition played Monday.

Jun 13, 10:20 am
Cheney promises ‘important and effective’ hearings despite losing key witness

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the committee, told reporters to prepare for a substantial hearing despite Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien having to drop out from testifying live at the last minute due to a family emergency.

“We’re going to have a very important and effective set of hearings. As you know, Mr. Stepien has appeared previously, and so we’ll be able to provide the American people with a lot of interesting new and important information that Mr. Stephens provided to us previously,” Cheney said.

She also confirmed the committee will show video of Stepien’s interview.

Jun 13, 9:48 am
Hearing to focus on Trump pushing ‘big lie’

In previewing Monday’s hearing, which will be guided in part by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., House select committee aides said members would focus on how Trump and his campaign pushed the ‘big lie’ to millions of supporters after the election, despite knowing he lost.

The questioning of live witnesses, along with clips of interviews the committee videotaped with other key witnesses, will show how Trump was told he had lost the election and lacked evidence of widespread voter fraud but continued to claim the election was stolen from him, aides told reporters on Sunday night.

The committee hearing will show “how litigation to challenge elections usually works,” and argue that Trump had an “obligation” to “abide by the rule of law” when his dozens of lawsuits failed in courts across the country, they said.

Jun 13, 9:40 am
Live witnesses slated for Monday

Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien will no longer testify live on Monday, citing a family emergency, but the committee will still hear from several live witnesses.

Chris Stirewalt, the former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night, is scheduled to testify this morning.

A second panel of witnesses includes Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state; veteran GOP election lawyer Ben Ginsburg, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Pak previously told Senate investigators he resigned in January 2021 after learning Trump sought to fire him over not doing more to amplify his false claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia.

Jun 13, 9:21 am
Hearing delayed

The House select committee has delayed its 10 a.m. start time Monday, citing a family emergency for witness Bill Stepien, former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, who will no longer testify.

“Due to a family emergency, Mr. William Stepien is unable to testify before the Select Committee this morning. His counsel will appear and make a statement on the record,” the committee said in a statement. “The hearing will convene approximately 30 to 45 minutes after the previously announced 10:00am start time.”

Stepien had been subpoenaed to testify on Monday.

The committee said his counsel will appear and make a statement on the record.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee holds another public hearing Monday — this time focused on the “big lie” pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies — that the committee says fueled those who attacked the Capitol.

The main witness scheduled was Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, but the committee said Monday morning the hearing would be postponed due to a family emergency.

This is how the hearing is unfolding:

Please check back for updates. All times Eastern:

Jun 13, 9:48 am
Hearing to focus on Trump pushing ‘big lie’

In previewing Monday’s hearing, which will be guided in part by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., House select committee aides said members would focus on how Trump and his campaign pushed the ‘big lie’ to millions of supporters after the election, despite knowing he lost.

The questioning of live witnesses, along with clips of interviews the committee videotaped with other key witnesses, will show how Trump was told he had lost the election and lacked evidence of widespread voter fraud but continued to claim the election was stolen from him, aides told reporters on Sunday night.

The committee hearing will show “how litigation to challenge elections usually works,” and argue that Trump had an “obligation” to “abide by the rule of law” when his dozens of lawsuits failed in courts across the country, they said.

Jun 13, 9:40 am
Live witnesses slated for Monday

Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien will no longer testify live on Monday, citing a family emergency, but the committee will still hear from several live witnesses.

Chris Stirewalt, the former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night, is scheduled to testify this morning.

A second panel of witnesses includes Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state; veteran GOP election lawyer Ben Ginsburg, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Pak previously told Senate investigators he resigned in January 2021 after learning Trump sought to fire him over not doing more to amplify his false claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia.

Jun 13, 9:21 am
Hearing delayed

The House select committee has delayed its 10 a.m. start time Monday, citing a family emergency for witness Bill Stepien, former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, who will no longer testify.

“Due to a family emergency, Mr. William Stepien is unable to testify before the Select Committee this morning. His counsel will appear and make a statement on the record,” the committee said in a statement. “The hearing will convene approximately 30 to 45 minutes after the previously announced 10:00am start time.”

Stepien had been subpoenaed to testify on Monday.

The committee said his counsel will appear and make a statement on the record.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien will testify before the House Jan. 6 select committee on Monday, in a hearing that will focus on Trump’s decision to declare victory against Joe Biden on election night and knowledge that he was spreading lies of widespread election fraud.

Stepien will appear before the committee on a panel with Chris Stirewalt, the former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night — a move that infuriated the former president.

A political consultant now advising Harriet Hageman, the Trump-endorsed primary challenger to Jan. 6 committee leader Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, Stepien will testify before the committee under subpoena Monday, his attorney confirmed to ABC News.

A second panel of witnesses in the roughly two-hour hearing will include Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state; veteran GOP election lawyer Ben Ginsburg, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Pak previously told Senate investigators he resigned in January 2021 after learning Trump sought to fire him over not doing more to amplify his false claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia.

In a Los Angeles Times op-ed after the Capitol riot, Stirewalt, who was fired from Fox News on Jan. 19, 2021, wrote that after the Arizona call, he “became a target of murderous rage from consumers who were furious at not having their views confirmed.”

On a briefing call with reporters Sunday evening, select committee aides said Monday’s hearing will explore Trump and his campaign’s actions in the days and weeks after election night, and the decision to push “the Big Lie to millions of supporters” and fundraise off claims that rioters later used to justify attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The questioning of live witnesses, along with clips of interviews the committee videotaped with other key witnesses, will show how Trump was told he had lost the election and lacked evidence of widespread voter fraud as he continued to claim the election was stolen from him, aides said.

“I think we can prove to any reasonable, open-minded person that Donald Trump absolutely knew, because he was surrounded by lawyers, including the attorney general of the United States, William Barr, telling him in no uncertain terms, in terms that Donald Trump could understand, this is B.S.,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said Sunday on CNN.

The committee hearing, which will be guided in part by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, will show “how litigation to challenge elections usually works,” and argue that Trump had an “obligation” to “abide by the rule of law” when his dozens of lawsuits failed in courts across the country.

Nearly 20 million people watched the committee’s prime-time hearing last Thursday, the first of seven planned for this month.

Using never-before-seen video of the Capitol assault and testimony from Barr and Trump’s own daughter, Ivanka, the committee laid out the broad findings of its inquiry, placing Trump at the center of an “attempted coup” last year.

Hearings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday will explore Trump’s efforts to pressure the Justice Department to investigate and spread false claims of widespread election fraud, and force Vice President Mike Pence to block the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Monday morning that due to a family emergency, its key witness Bill Stepien — Trump’s 2020 campaign manager — is unable to testify as planned. The committee said his counsel will appear and make a statement on the record.

It also said the hearing will convene approximately 30 to 45 minutes after the previously announced 10:00 a.m. start time.

Stepien was scheduled to testify in a hearing that will focus on Trump’s decision to declare victory against Joe Biden on election night and knowledge that he was spreading lies of widespread election fraud.

He was to appear before the committee on a panel with Chris Stirewalt, the former Fox News political editor who was fired after defending the network’s early projection that Trump had lost Arizona on election night — a move that infuriated the former president.

A political consultant now advising Harriet Hageman, the Trump-endorsed primary challenger to Jan. 6 committee leader Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, Stepien was to testify before the committee under subpoena Monday, his attorney confirmed to ABC News.

A second panel of witnesses in the roughly two-hour hearing will include Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state; veteran GOP election lawyer Ben Ginsburg, and Byung “BJay” Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Pak previously told Senate investigators he resigned in January 2021 after learning Trump sought to fire him over not doing more to amplify his false claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia.

In a Los Angeles Times op-ed after the Capitol riot, Stirewalt, who was fired from Fox News on Jan. 19, 2021, wrote that after the Arizona call, he “became a target of murderous rage from consumers who were furious at not having their views confirmed.”

On a briefing call with reporters Sunday evening, select committee aides said Monday’s hearing will explore Trump and his campaign’s actions in the days and weeks after election night, and the decision to push “the Big Lie to millions of supporters” and fundraise off claims that rioters later used to justify attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The questioning of live witnesses, along with clips of interviews the committee videotaped with other key witnesses, will show how Trump was told he had lost the election and lacked evidence of widespread voter fraud as he continued to claim the election was stolen from him, aides said.

“I think we can prove to any reasonable, open-minded person that Donald Trump absolutely knew, because he was surrounded by lawyers, including the attorney general of the United States, William Barr, telling him in no uncertain terms, in terms that Donald Trump could understand, this is B.S.,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said Sunday on CNN.

The committee hearing, which will be guided in part by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, will show “how litigation to challenge elections usually works,” and argue that Trump had an “obligation” to “abide by the rule of law” when his dozens of lawsuits failed in courts across the country.

Nearly 20 million people watched the committee’s prime-time hearing last Thursday, the first of seven planned for this month.

Using never-before-seen video of the Capitol assault and testimony from Barr and Trump’s own daughter, Ivanka, the committee laid out the broad findings of its inquiry, placing Trump at the center of an “attempted coup” last year.

Hearings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday will explore Trump’s efforts to pressure the Justice Department to investigate and spread false claims of widespread election fraud, and force Vice President Mike Pence to block the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan group of senators on Sunday announced an agreement had been reached — though in principle only — on new legislation meant to address the country’s ongoing gun violence, including the recent Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting.

The deal, in the works for weeks, has the support of at least 10 Republicans in the Senate, which is the number needed to avoid a filibuster.

If passed, the proposal would be the first major gun law to make it through Congress in years.

Among other things, the agreement would provide funding for mental health (including behavioral health centers) and incentives for the creation of so-called “red flag” laws to remove firearms from people who are a danger to themselves or others; increase money for school safety; and strengthen the federal background check system as it relates to convicted domestic violence abusers or those with restraining orders.

Potential gun owners under 21 would also be subject to “an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement,” the bipartisan group said Sunday.

Twenty senators released a statement confirming the deal, saying in part: “Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities.”

The 20 lawmakers — double the initial bipartisan group who restarted negotiations late last month — are Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Chris Coons of Delaware, John Cornyn of Texas, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Angus King of Maine, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

The carefully calibrated changes in the deal — mixing some modest gun restrictions with a focus on schools and social services — reflect the evenly divided Senate, requiring any law to attract at least 10 Republican votes.

Notably, the new proposal does not address major Democratic priorities such as restricting access to assault-style weapons to people under 21 — a ban that President Joe Biden had backed in a recent primetime address to the nation but which was taken off the table among the Senate negotiators. This comes despite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell privately expressing a willingness to support such a move, sources told ABC News.

Conservatives have long resisted gun reform, arguing in part that the laws are ineffective and that they trespass the guarantees of the Second Amendment.

But the rising tide of gun violence — like the mass shootings in Uvalde and in Buffalo, New York, before that and in Boulder, Colorado, before that; and many more — had increased the urgency of some kind of proposal, lawmakers involved have said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Sunday he supported the new agreement, calling it “a good first step,” and would be scheduling a vote on it as soon as the legislative text was complete.

“We must move swiftly to advance this legislation because if a single life can be saved it is worth the effort,” he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week she would take up a Senate bill “if it’s life-saving and can make a difference and they have bipartisan support for it, then we would welcome it even though it won’t be everything that we want.”

A more specific timeline remained unclear and previous such deals show it could be weeks before a draft law is ready, as was the case with the infrastructure package passed last year.

A GOP aide involved in the negotiations stressed that the agreement was not on all of the details, which will be critical for Republicans, particularly the firearms-related provisions. One or more of these provisions could be dropped, the aide said.

Sen. McConnell on Sunday signaled his tentative support for the talks as well.

“The principles they announced today show the value of dialogue and cooperation,” he said in a statement. “I continue to hope their discussions yield a bipartisan product that makes significant headway on key issues like mental health and school safety, respects the Second Amendment, earns broad support in the Senate, and makes a difference for our country.”

In a pair of statements, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that the deal did not align with their own goals but that they believed it would still be a meaningful deterrent to future violence.

“It does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction,” Biden said, lauding the “tireless work” of the Senate group. “Each day that passes, more children are killed in this country: the sooner it comes to my desk, the sooner I can sign it, and the sooner we can use these measures to save lives,” he said.

Gun control advocates and anti-gun violence groups likewise backed the announced framework while arguing there was more still to do.

“In a less broken society, we would be able to require background checks every single time someone wants to buy a gun, and we would ban assault rifles outright. But if even one life is saved or one attempted mass shooting is prevented because of these regulations, we believe that it is worth fighting for,” March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, who was a student at the Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in 2018, said in a statement.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt 11 years ago that killed six others, on Sunday wrote on social media that she believed the deal was necessary if incomplete.

“If carefully drafted and passed into law, this framework would be a lifesaving step forward,” she wrote.

Pelosi echoed that last week, telling reporters that in her view “it’s about guns. And it’s about other things, too, but we cannot avoid the fact that it’s about guns: their availability, at what age [people can possess them].”

The Senate has repeatedly tried and failed to agree on major gun legislation, with talks periodically restarted in the wake of various shootings. The Democratic House separately took up its own gun control measures in the wake of the Uvalde killings, though the Senate has shown little interest in those proposals.

With the shadow of polarization looming over the latest negotiations, Republican Sen. Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Murphy — the latter perhaps the chamber’s most outspoken supporter of gun control — reconvened a group seeking some kind of deal.

The lawmakers met remotely and in person, talking via phone and text, including during a brief recess. Biden, having taken a more direct role in previous negotiations important to his administration, this time said he would remain on the sidelines.

“It’s inconceivable to me that we have not passed significant federal legislation trying to address the tragedy of gun violence in this nation,” Murphy told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in late May. “The pace of everyday gun violence has dramatically escalated over the past two years.”

“My hope is that this time is different,” Murphy said then. “I get it. Every single time, after one of these mass shootings, there’s talks in Washington and they never succeed. But there are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook.”

Specifics still taking shape

With those involved in the deal saying specifics are still being hashed out, some of the senators involved have previously addressed how they would like to see certain provisions implemented — and they have been open about where disagreements remain, including with funding.

Regarding the possible expanded use of juvenile records in background checks, Sen. Tillis said last week: “The biggest problem you have right now with people 18 — really under 21 — is you don’t have a lot of information that goes back to their juvenile records. So, I think the talk is less about raising the age and more about making sure you have all the information you need to make a decision.”

Tillis was one of four in a core group of negotiators — along with Cornyn, Murphy and Sinema — aiming to strike the right balance on a new law.

Negotiators have been assessing how to allow background check access to juvenile records that contain felony or other dangerous offenses. But this has proved one of the most difficult areas in the talks, according to two senators familiar with the matter.

Tillis said last week the group was looking at different “engagement models” in states; some already upload juvenile records into a system that would be accessed by a background check. But Tillis said his group was “trying to inventory and figure out” which records to sweep into the federal system. “It’s not like we’re going to take a huge swath of all juvenile records,” he said. “What we’re trying to do -– the only part of the juvenile record we’re interested in are offenses that map to disqualifying convictions as an adult.”

Tillis said that in some instances, though, there might be “underlying circumstances, like two kids fighting at a football game” that would have to be separated out as not meriting a flag in a background check.

Someone 18 to 21 who might want to purchase an assault rifle would have a the right to adjudicate any disagreement with any background check failure as anyone would in the current system, according to Tillis.

Overall funding in the bill could also prove problematic, as members have appeared at odds over whether the billions required to implement the proposed policies would come from new federal funding or taken back from already-allocated funds, such as any leftover from the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan.

Cassidy has said he would insist that any new funding be paid for with spending cuts.

But Blumenthal, who has been leading negotiations on the program to incentivize states to develop “red flag” laws, previously said that “there is, in my view, very little justification for requiring an offset dollar for dollar. What we’re dealing with here is a national crisis that has to be addressed right away with new money, not taking it away from other law enforcement.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice should investigate “any allegation of criminal activity” against former President Donald Trump and his allies raised by the House’s Jan. 6 select committee in its public hearings this month, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday on “This Week.”

“There are certain actions, parts of these different lines of effort to overturn the [2020] election, that I don’t see evidence the Justice Department is investigating,” Schiff, a member of the committee and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview with “This Week” co-anchor and ABC Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz.

“Once the evidence is accumulated by the Justice Department, it needs to make a decision about whether it can prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt the president’s guilt or anyone else’s,” he said.

“But they need to be investigated if there’s credible evidence, which I think there is.”

On Thursday the Jan. 6 committee held the first of seven new public hearings to lay out its nearly year-long investigation into what members described as Trump’s “attempted coup” — a multifaceted effort to challenge and overturn the 2020 presidential election results that culminated in the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, as members of Congress had gathered to certify Trump’s defeat.

Trump has long denied wrongdoing and contends the Jan. 6 committee is politically motivated.

“The evidence is very powerful that Donald Trump began telling this ‘big lie’ before the election … that lie continued after the election and ultimately led to this mob assembling and attacking the Capitol,” Schiff told Raddatz on Sunday. “There’s a lot more testimony where that came from.”

Schiff said that exploring the connections between Trump’s orbit and extremist groups like the Proud Boys has been a “clear focus” of the committee’s investigation, but he declined to be more specific about their work.

Raddatz pressed him in the interview: “Let me ask you again: Is there an actual conversation between people in Trump’s orbit and Proud Boys, Oath Keepers?”

“I don’t want to predetermine or prejudge the strength of what we’ll show you. … I don’t want to get into the specifics of the evidence. You’ll just have to wait until we get to that point in our hearings,” Schiff said.

The committee will also reveal details about alleged efforts from some Republican lawmakers to seek pardons from Trump for their involvement in the push to challenge the election, he said.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., called Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney’s claim that he sought a pardon from Trump a “soulless lie.”

“We will show evidence that we have that members of Congress were seeking pardons. To me I think that is the most compelling evidence of a consciousness of guilt,” Schiff said. “Why would members to that if they felt that their involvement in this plot to overturn the election was somehow appropriate?”

On Monday, the committee will hold the second in its latest hearings, which they say will focus on evidence that Trump and his aides knew he had lost the election but still continued to push unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — Sarah Palin got one step closer this weekend to a return to national politics when she successfully advanced through the crowded statewide primary for the special election for Alaska’s lone House seat.

ABC News projected Sunday that Palin, who is running as a Republican, made it to the special general race in August along with Nick Begich and Al Gross. The fourth and final candidate is still to be determined.

In a statement on social media, Palin wrote that she was “looking forward to the special general election so we can highlight our ideas for fixing this country.”

Among those proposals, she said, was “responsibly developing Alaska’s God-given natural resources, getting runaway government spending under control [and] protecting human life” as well as backing the Second Amendment — amid renewed talks of federal gun legislation in response to the latest wave of mass shootings.

Palin previously served as governor of Alaska and mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, before she was named as Sen. John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential race.

That election — which instantly gave Palin a national profile — spotlighted both her popularity with conservatives and the emerging “tea party” wing of the GOP and her stumbles as a candidate, particularly around foreign policy. She resigned from the governorship in 2009, months after she and McCain lost to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

In the years since, Palin has remained involved in politics: musing about a presidential race of her own and working as a commentator and TV personality.

Her bid for the Alaska House seat was her first official foray back into electoral politics.

Palin supported Trump’s 2016 presidential run, and only two days after Palin launched her House campaign this year, Trump returned the favor. In early June, he held a statewide telerally for her.

Forty-eight candidates in total were running in the special primary, held Saturday, after Republican Rep. Don Young died in March.

The winner of the special general election in August will serve only the remainder of Young’s term; the regularly scheduled election to decide who will serve a full two-year term starting in 2023 will be held in November. (Thirty-one candidates have filed for that race.)

Begich, who is running as a Republican, comes from a prominent Democratic family. His grandfather, Rep. Nick Begich Sr., was Alaska’s sole representative before Young — from 1970 to 1972.

Before running for Congress, the younger Begich held several political roles, including co-chair for Young’s 2020 reelection campaign, the 2020 OneAlaska campaign and the Alaska Republican Party’s Finance Committee.

Gross, a surgeon running as an independent, told the Anchorage Daily News he was seeking the House seat because he wanted to do what was best for Alaskans. He said that his top priorities include creating jobs, diversifying the state’s economy and making the U.S. energy independent.

Gross ran in Alaska’s 2020 Senate race but lost to incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.

Among the other candidates in Saturday’s special primary was a man named — yes — Santa Claus, who has a long white beard and is a city council member in North Pole, Alaska.

ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — This year’s redistricting process reduced electoral competition, giving incumbents bolstered protection. But not every officeholder gets a break, even if members of their own party help draw the maps.

Take Rep. Tom Malinowski, the Democrat incumbent of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, which he flipped from red to blue in 2018, maintaining his seat by fewer than two points in 2020. Now, thanks to a new map, the district inherits a large chunk of Republican voters, putting Malinowski on the ropes again, with his seat vulnerable to Republican takeover.

And with only five seats needed to give the GOP control of the House, the political stakes of the crop of newly competitive races for seats currently held by Democrats couldn’t be higher.

“This is the race that is going to determine whether Democrats control the House of Representatives for the next two years, or the people who supported the insurrection on January 6th,” said Malinowski during a campaign event with Union City Democrats in the commuter town of Rahway, a new part of his district. That’s an easy choice for the good people of New Jersey.”

Unfortunately for Malinowski, that choice will likely be anything but easy with the new lines.

When a panel of New Jersey lawmakers were tasked with redrawing the state’s congressional boundaries, Democrats faced a challenge: How do they help draw a map that ensures they maintain their majority in Congress? The decision was to draw eleven of the twelve districts as safely partisan, leaving one remaining race competitive. That seat? Malinowski’s.

If things go poorly for Malinowski come November, Rutgers Professor John Farmer says the New Jersey congressman “will be seen as having been sacrificed.”

Unsurprisingly, national Republicans have been on the offensive.

Malinowski and Rep. Cindy Axne, an Iowa Democrat, both advanced to a general election challenge after winning their state’s primaries and are some of the top targets of the National Republican Congressional Committee. The group, alongside other House-aligned Super PAC called The Congressional Leadership Fund, has poured millions of dollars in the efforts to push New Jersey’s 7th district from lightly to solidly red.

Malinowski must now fend off Tom Kean Jr., the son of former Gov. Thomas Kean, whose legacy helps him elbow out the competition from both more moderate and MAGA wings of the Jersey GOP. Kean lost to Malinowski by a hair in 2020, and new maps give him the upper hand for the rematch.

“I am both humbled and fully committed to flipping this seat in November,” Kean wrote in a statement on Twitter after his primary victory.

During hits on cable news — mostly Fox — he’s been slamming Malinowski on rising costs and inflation in D.C., kitchen table issues that tend to swing New Jersey voters.

In addition to creating some newly competitive districts, redistricting has also forced some Democrats to run against fellow Democrats in incumbent-on-incumbent primaries. Such was the case for Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, who advanced to the general after being forced into Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, ousting Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux. And history will repeat itself in New York come August in perhaps the hottest incumbent-on-incumbent primary when Democrats Rep. Jerry Nadler squares off with Rep. Carolyn Maloney in New York’s new 12th district.

In the walk-up to the November election, the path for Democrats is anything but clear.

At a campaign event with supporters in Springfield area coffee shop, Malinowski gave a candid appraisal of the road ahead for Democrats like him.

“We’re the only ones who actually, by our votes and by our work, get to decide, get to make a difference in terms of which way the wind is blowing in America one way or another. And that is a burden. It means we have to work much harder. It’s going to cost us a lot of money. But I think it’s also a privilege,” said Malinowski. “We actually could go either way, and that makes the investment that all of us are going to make in this campaign all the more important.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Washington, D.C., is increasing police presence and urging visitors not to bring guns as the city prepares for rallies and Supreme Court rulings on hot-button topics including abortion and gun rights.

Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said Friday his department is in a “posture of preparedness” for upcoming events.

“We are increasing our presence to have coverage in neighborhoods and our downtown areas, which includes the activation of civil disturbance unit platoons,” he said at a press conference alongside Mayor Muriel Bowser. “In addition, we are working closely with our law enforcement, government and community partners to ensure that all of these events are peaceful and our neighborhoods are safe.”

This weekend in D.C., a March for Our Lives demonstration is expected to draw thousands calling for action on gun control after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 young children and two teachers dead. That followed a shooting in Buffalo, New York, where a gunman opened fire and killed 10 Black people.

The Supreme Court is also expected to deliver several opinions this month, with one or more decisions being handed down Monday and Wednesday.

Contee said if more officers are needed at any point, the Metropolitan Police Department will call upon departments in neighboring jurisdictions.

The police chief also specifically warned against bringing guns to any upcoming events amid a disturbing trend of high-profile mass shootings.

“If you’re coming to enjoy our beautiful city, individuals should not think to bring firearms into our beautiful city,” he said. “We need to help keep the peace in our city — leave the law enforcement and the firearms, leave that to the Metropolitan Police Department. That’s our responsibility.”

The FBI Washington field office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia released a statement Friday reiterating its commitment to keep the peace this summer.

“We will not tolerate violence, destruction, interference with government functions, or trespassing on government property,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono.

Tensions have been running high in recent weeks as the nation awaits decisions in two high-profile Supreme Court cases — one on gun rights and another on abortion rights.

Earlier this week, an armed man was arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Bowser said Friday that the city won’t “live in fear.”

“We’re going to rely on each other but also on our government who knows how to support large-scale events and are going to take every precaution that we can, but we’re also asking each other to look out for our neighbors,” she said.

– ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.