Jan. 6 Panel Abruptly Sets Tuesday Hearing on ‘Recently Obtained Evidence’
The panel has yet to hear directly from Mr. Trump or Mr. Pence, though lawmakers have left open the possibility of calling either. The committee has also asked Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify privately next month about her role in pushing for the 2020 election to be overturned.
Last week, Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and the committee’s vice chairwoman, publicly called on Pat A. Cipollone, the former White House counsel who pushed back against some of the most extreme plans to overturn the election, to testify.
Some of the most damning testimony the panel has received so far has come from people who worked directly for Mr. Trump, including officials from his presidential campaign, his legal team and the Justice Department.
Ms. Hutchinson was asked by the committee about Mr. Trump’s positive reaction to the chants from rioters to execute Mr. Pence and confirmed it, according to people familiar with the panel’s work.
Ms. Cheney has said the committee received testimony that when Mr. Trump learned of the mob’s threats to hang Mr. Pence, he said, “Maybe our supporters have the right idea” and added that Mr. Pence “deserves it.”
Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony also suggested that at least a handful of Republican lawmakers were concerned about criminal liability after participating in the effort to invalidate the election results. In a videotaped interview played by the panel at its last public hearing, Ms. Hutchinson testified that Representatives Mo Brooks of Alabama, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia all sought pardons after the Jan. 6 assault.
