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Jan. 6 committee hearing highlights how Trump's election denial led to the attack

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

After hours of dramatic testimony across multiple hearings, here is where the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol landed today - a unanimous vote to subpoena former President Donald Trump.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Mr. Chairman, on this vote, there are nine ayes and zero nos.

BENNIE THOMPSON: The resolution is agreed to.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

The panel held that vote after a hearing that focused on how Trump continued to push a false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen even though, members say, he knew he had lost. They also spoke about what he was doing as his supporters attacked the Capitol. Here's committee member and Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin.

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JAMIE RASKIN: Until approximately 4 p.m., over the next two hours and 40 minutes, the president stayed in the White House dining room attached to the Oval Office and watched this unprecedented assault take place at the Capitol. We have testimony from several members of the president's White House staff establishing that President Trump refused entreaties from his closest advisers and family members to tell his supporters to stand down and leave the Capitol.

KELLY: Congressman Adam Schiff of California also said the Secret Service had advance warning that the day was potentially going to turn violent.

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ADAM SCHIFF: The Secret Service had advance information more than 10 days beforehand regarding the Proud Boys' planning for January 6. We know now, of course, that the Proud Boys and others did lead the assault on our Capitol building.

PFEIFFER: Committee vice chair and Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney said there are still questions about what happened that day. And the American people are entitled to hear answers from former President Trump on what happened. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.
Ashley Brown is a senior editor for All Things Considered.
Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.
Sacha Pfeiffer is a correspondent for NPR's Investigations team and an occasional guest host for some of NPR's national shows.