Jan. 6 hearing shows Barr saying Trump 'detached from reality' in pushing 'big lie'

A key witness, Trump's 2020 campaign manager, was unable to testify.

Last Updated: June 13, 2022, 12:41 PM EDT

The House select committee held another public hearing Monday -- this time focused on the "big Lie" pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies -- that the committee says fueled those who attacked the U.S. Capitol.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

Jun 13, 2022, 12:41 PM EDT

Election officials in key states debunk Trump's fraud claims

After the second panel of witnesses was sworn in, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif started questioning Byung "Bjay" Pak, who served as U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia during the Trump administration and was appointed by Trump.

Pak said Attorney General Bill Barr "asked me to find out what I could" about claims of voter fraud in Georgia raised by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a public hearing, but said both he and his successor were "unable to find any evidence of fraud which affected the outcome of the election."

Former Georgia US Attorney B.J. Pak, testifies during a hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6th Attack on the US Capitol, on June 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Lofgren then questioned Al Schmidt, the former GOP city commissioner who supervised the 2020 election in Philadelphia, about investigating claims about thousands of dead people voting in Philadelphia.

"Not only was there no evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania -- there was not even evidence of eight," Schmidt said.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol meets to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Jun 13, 2022, 12:27 PM EDT

Hearing gavels in for 2nd panel of GOP witnesses

Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled the hearing back in shortly after 12:15 p.m. for the second panel of witnesses.

The three witnesses are Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who repeatedly debunked claims of fraud in the state, Ben Ginsberg, a veteran GOP election lawyer, and Byung "BJay" Pak, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia and Trump appointee.

Jun 13, 2022, 12:25 PM EDT

New witness confirmed for Wednesday's hearing

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California confirmed publicly that Rich Donoghue, a former acting Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department, will testify in person before the committee. ABC News has previously reported he was in talks to testify.

Donoghue will appear in Wednesday's hearing that will focus on Trump's "pressure" campaign against the Justice Department to investigate fraud, as vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney announced in last week's hearing.

Chairman Bennie Thompson called a 10-minute recess for the committee's Monday hearing shortly after noon.

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