The January 6 committee has voted to subpoena Donald Trump, meaning he is legally compelled to testify to Congress
The US House of Representatives committee is looking at Trump supporters' storming of Congress on 6 January 2021, after Joe Biden won in 2020
This committee hearing is currently the final one scheduled prior to the midterm elections next month
As the hearing began, the committee chair promised to make the former president's state of mind a focus of today's session
Witness statements were shown suggesting that Trump planned in advance to cast doubt on the election result if he lost
Secret Service communications during and before the riots were also presented as evidence for the first time
The committee's evidence could lead to prosecutions and new laws to strengthen US election security
Anthony Zurcher
Reporting from inside the hearing
As has been the case in previous committee meetings, a packed audience is seated on the other side of the room from the dais.
Among the crowd are members of Congress and police officers who were at the Capitol on 6 January - and have spoken out about the violence and trauma of that day.
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent
In his opening statement, Thompson said this would be a different kind of committee proceeding – not a hearing, but a meeting.
He noted that the committee members would consider new evidence and, at the end of the day, could take a vote to direct new investigatory action based on what they have learned.
That would be something this committee has not done in any of its previous eight meetings – and suggests there may be a new bit of drama at the end of the day.
This ninth hearing by the January 6 select committee has begun, with Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson making opening remarks.
Over the course of eight previous public hearings in June and July, the committee members have sought to connect former President Trump and his political allies to the events of 6 January 2021, when his supporters stormed Congress in a bid to thwart the certification of Joe Biden's election victory.
To do so, the panel has used both live and recorded testimony from witnesses - including many who served in key Trump administration positions - to describe Trump’s denial of the election results, efforts to overturn those results in the days leading up to the riot, and the events of the day itself.
Some of the most explosive testimony came from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who testified that Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent who would not take him to join the protesters at the Capitol.
Additionally, she alleged that Trump was aware that members of the mob were armed, but asked that metal detectors be removed from the area.
A slew of former officials, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, also testified that they repeatedly told Trump that there was
Image source, Pool/Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesWelcome to our live coverage.
In what’s possibly its final public hearing, the committee is expected to delve today into Donald Trump’s “state of mind” and the central role the former president played in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
New “surprising” details including evidence that from the US Secret Service - which guards the president - as well as previously unseen video showing efforts to respond in real time to the riot are likely to be presented, according to committee aides.
Unlike the previous eight hearings, this one is not expected to feature live witnesses, though it may share information from its recent interviews — including testimony from Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
She was in contact with the White House during the run-up to 6 January.
It will feature video testimony from both witnesses the committee has previously shown as well as witnesses testimony not yet made public.
The hearing will also look at events before the election and after the riot, with each of the committee’s nine members presenting a portion.
The session today is expected to last about 2 1/2 hours.