Jan. 6 hearing told Trump knew plan to pressure Pence was illegal, went ahead anyway

The committee said the mob attacking the Capitol got within 40 feet of Pence.

ByLibby Cathey and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: June 17, 2022, 9:37 AM EDT

The House's Jan. 6 committee held its third public hearing of the month, on Thursday, with the focus on the pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike Pence.

The committee detailed the efforts of then-President Donald Trump and his allies before and on Jan. 6, 2021, to get Pence to reject electoral votes Congress was certifying -- as part of what it says was a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

All times Eastern.
Jun 16, 2022, 10:29 AM EDT

Thursday to focus on Trump pressuring Pence

The House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol will convene its third public hearing of the month at 1 p.m. with members set to focus on how former President Donald Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence with "relentless effort" to intervene to help overturn the 2020 election.

"President Trump had no factual basis for what he was doing and he had been told it was illegal," Vice Chair Liz Cheney said in a video teasing Thursday's hearing. "Despite this, President Trump plotted with a lawyer named John Eastman and others to overturn the outcome of the election on Jan. 6."

Vice President Mike Pence stands before Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, obtained exclusively by ABC News
The White House

A key component of evidence is never-before-seen photos of Pence and his family taken by an official White House photographer on Jan. 6 itself. In one -- obtained by ABC News' Jonathan Karl ahead of the hearing -- second lady Karen Pence is seen hurriedly closing the curtains of the vice president's ceremonial office at the Capitol, apparently fearful the mob outside could see where they were.

Last week, at the prime-time kickoff to this round of hearings, Cheney teased testimony to come around Trump's awareness of rioters' "hang Mike Pence" chants. Quoting from witness testimony, Cheney said Trump suggested as the attack was underway: "Maybe our supporters have the right idea. Mike Pence deserves it."

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