Summary

  • The US House of Representatives committee investigating last year’s US Capitol riot held its third public hearing into the attack

  • It said ex-President Donald Trump tried to pressure Vice-President Mike Pence to unilaterally overturn the 2020 election result

  • 'Our democracy came dangerously close to catastrophe', said committee chairman Bennie Thompson, but 'Mike Pence said no'

  • Greg Jacob, Pence's former legal counsel, said he examined a theory that Pence had power to change the outcome but concluded it had 'no justifiable basis'

  • Former judge and conservative legal scholar Michael Luttig told the hearing something 'tantamount to a revolution' was averted by Pence's refusal

  • Mike Pence's life was in danger and at one point he was only about 40 feet (12 metres) from the rioters, committee member Pete Aguilar said

  • The Democratic-led January 6 select committee wants to create a definitive account of the riot and events around it

Live Reporting

Edited by Jessica Murphy

  1. What the committee has heard so far

    Donald Trump on a screen at the 6 January committee hearing on 13 JuneGetty Images

    Committee members watching a clip of Donald Trump on 13 June

    Today’s hearing is the third held so far by the committee investigating the 6 January, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.

    Over the course of the two previous hearings, the committee has sought to lay out their case that the riot formed part of a far-reaching conspiracy to keep former President Donald Trump in the White House.

    In the first hearing on 9 January, committee chairman Bennie Thompson said that Mr Trump “was at the centre” of this effort to “stop the peaceful transfer of power” after the November 2020 election.

    The committee has also aimed to make the case that the insistence of Trump and some of his allies - such as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani - that the election was stolen directly led to the riot.

    To do so, the committee has used testimony from members of Trump’s inner circle, including former Attorney General William Barr and daughter Ivanka Trump.

  2. Who are the witnesses appearing?

    Today’s hearing will include testimony from two witnesses and is expected to focus on the fissures in the Trump White House over whether Vice-President Pence could put a stop to Congress certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

    One of today’s witnesses, Greg Jacob, was formerly Pence’s legal counsel.

    He had previously testified to the committee that John Eastman, a Trump campaign attorney, had outlined a number of proposals for Pence to prevent the election certification, including declaring Trump the winner or rejecting state electors.

    The committee will also hear from Michael Luttig, a former federal judge and conservative legal scholar who concluded after the election that Pence had no legal authority to challenge the results.

    In an interview with Frontline released ahead of the committee’s first hearing last week, Luttig said that “the plan was to overturn the election through the exploitation of what I’ve called the institutions of democracy”.

  3. Welcome to our live coverage

    Welcome to our live coverage of the third public hearing of the congressional committee investigating the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

    The hearings aim to paint a full picture of the events that unfolded as supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump sought to stop Joe Biden from being confirmed as the winner of the 2020 election.

    The Democratic-led committee says its findings will show the attack was the result of a coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the election.

    Critics, however, have argued against the validity and purpose of the panel.

    Today's hearing is expected to focus on Trump and his then Vice-President Mike Pence.

    The committee says Trump tried to rally his supporters to pressure Pence to unilaterally change the election results in Congress - and put his life in danger as a result.

    Follow us as we take you through the proceedings, with reactions and analysis from across the country.