House Democrats are confident they'll be able to question former Donald Trump aides in their investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection, but they still have work ahead of them to secure testimony from some of the biggest names.
Lawmakers still haven't defined the scope of their investigation, but the Department of Justice has offered a legal opinion allowing Congress to seek witness statements from former Trump administration officials -- and they're focused on coordination efforts by extremist groups that led the assault on the U.S. Capitol, reported Politico.
"That means the likelihood of any resistance from the committee's work from former [Trump] employees or current employees is not an impediment," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the committee chairman.
The select committee members are especially interested in what happened in the days and weeks before the insurrection, with a particular focus on the planning and financing of the assault.
"[We] want to know who was the ultimate organizer and who paid for all of this action and how did it come about and are they still out there," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
Panel members want to hear from witnesses who can describe "local, state and federal interaction in the run up to and on the day of Jan. 6," according to Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and testimony from individuals who can describe the political influence on the Pentagon and intelligence agencies.
Other congressional committees, including the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, are also investigating aspects of the insurrection, including Donald Trump's efforts to pressure the Justice Department to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud and potentially overturn his election loss.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who chairs the Oversight Committee, released letters to former top Justice Department officials, including Trump's last acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen.
She also wants to hear from two former U.S. attorneys based in Atlanta who may be able to shed light on the ex-president's pressure campaign on Georgia officials to "find" enough votes to overturn his election.
