OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Photos have just been made available showing former President Donald Trump, his family and aides during the incident at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The photos were shown on Tuesday by Reuters as the January 6 committee continues its hearings, The New York Post reported.
The photos were revealed for the first time as the commitee probing last year’s Capitol riot spotlighted a “heated” phone call that Trump made to his then-Vice President Mike Pence from the Oval Office the morning of Jan. 6.
Trump’s children, Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr., could be seen watching on as the call took place. Don Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, were also in the Oval Office.
In videotaped testimony, then-first daughter, Ivanka, said the conversation was “pretty heated” and “a different tone than I had heard him take with the vice president before.”
In other taped interviews, aides described snippets of the conversation, which they had only heard from Trump’s side of the call.
“I remember hearing the word wimp …. I don’t remember if he said, ‘You are a wimp, you’ll be a wimp.’ Wimp is the word I remember,” former White House staffer Nick Luna said.
“When I entered the office the second time, he was on the telephone with, who I later found out to be– it was the vice president,” the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump said.
“The conversation was pretty heated,” she said. “It was a different tone than I’d heard him take with the vice president before.”
Michael Beschloss of NBC News shared the photos of the former president on Twitter.
“New photograph of Trump and his entourage in Oval Office on January 6, 2021 (released by House Committee),” he said in the caption of the first photo.
New photograph of Trump and his entourage in Oval Office on January 6, 2021 (released by House Committee): pic.twitter.com/9C97f56r76
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) June 16, 2022
“Another new photograph of Trump and his circle in Oval Office on January 6 (released by House Committee),” he said.
Another new photograph of Trump and his circle in Oval Office on January 6 (released by House Committee): pic.twitter.com/rNT77OrsFq
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) June 16, 2022
Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney is furious with the January 6 Select Committee’s decision to not make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for former President Donald Trump.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, was asked by a reporter if the committee would be sending criminal referrals for the former president or others and he responded by saying the committee does not have that authority, CNN reported.
“No, you know, we’re going to tell the facts. If the Department of Justice looks at it and assumes that there’s something that needs further review, I’m sure they’ll do it,” he said.
He was asked again and explained “No, that’s not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it, and make recommendations after that.”
This was not what Rep. Cheney and other members of the committee wanted to hear.
“The January 6th Select Committee has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals. We will announce a decision on that at an appropriate time,” the representative said in a tweet, but she was corrected.
But a spokesperson for the committee spoke to CNN and said, “the Select Committee has no authority to prosecute individuals, but is rather tasked with developing the facts surrounding the January 6th riot at the Capitol. Right now, the committee is focused on presenting our findings to the American people in our hearings and in our report. Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to gather all relevant information as we present facts, offer recommendations and, if warranted, make criminal referrals.”
Democrat California Rep. Adam Schiff spoke to CNN on Monday and appeared to be stunned by the comments.
“You know, I haven’t seen the chairman’s statements,” he said. “We haven’t had a discussion about that, so I don’t know that the committee has reached a position on whether we make a referral or what the referrals might be. I thought we were deferring that decision until we concluded our investigation. At least that’s my understanding.”
“Our committee has yet to vote on whether we will recommend criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. If criminal activity occurred, it is our responsibility to report that activity to the DOJ,” Rep. Elaine Luria said.
But Rep. Thompson said there will not be a formal criminal referral and said the Department of Justice has to decide for itself.
“It’s a public document. Anybody can have access to it. And if they want, after reviewing it, to come back and ask to talk to some of the staff or the members who helped produce the report, I’m sure they will,” he said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he is watching the hearings.
“I am watching, and I will be watching all the hearings, although I may not be able to watch all of it live,” he said. “But I will be sure that I am watching all of it. And I can assure you that the January 6 prosecutors are watching all of the hearings as well.”
