Trump tried to call Jan. 6 committee witness, Cheney says

Vice Chair Liz Cheney said, in closing the hearing, that Trump himself tried to call a witness who she said has not yet publicly testified.

"After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation -- a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings," she said.

Cheney said the witness did not answer the call.

"Their lawyer alerted us, and this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice," she said.

"Let me say one more time, we will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously," she added, as the committee continually warns against witness tampering in its ongoing investigation.

Closing the hearing attempting to connect extremists directly to Trump and subsequent violence at the Capitol, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Trump's legacy on America is "American carnage."

"The Watergate break-in was like a Cub Scout meeting compared to this assault on our people and institutions," he said.

Raskin said that authoritarian parties have two essential features in common: "They do not accept the results of democratic elections when they lose," and "They embrace political violence as legitimate," attitudes which, he argued, Trump embraced.

"American democracy is a precious inheritance, something rare in the history of the world and even on Earth today," he said. "We need to defend both our democracy and our freedom with everything we have and declare that this American carnage ends here and now."

Raskin praised Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, an Iraq War veteran who was injured during the violent attack.

Gonell was assaulted by the rioters, leading to permanent damage to his left shoulder and right foot that "make it impossible for him to continue as a police officer," Raskin said.

"Sgt. Gonell, we wish you and your family all the best. We are here for you, we salute you for your valor, your eloquence and your beautiful commitment to America," Raskin said of Gonell, who could be seen wiping away tears.

"I wonder what former President Trump would say to someone like Sgt. Gonell, who must now go about remaking his life. I wonder if he could even understand what motivates a patriot like Sgt. Gonell."

Stephen Ayres, who recently admitted to illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, testified Tuesday how influential he said Trump was over the actions of those who participated in the insurrection. Ayres said he didn't intend to storm the Capitol if Trump hadn't 'riled up' those at his Ellipse rally to march to the area.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., asked Ayres if it would've made a difference to know that Trump himself knew by Jan. 6 that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

"Oh, definitely. Who knows, I may not have come down here, then," Ayres said.

Ayres described how he and other rioters left the Capitol right after Trump posted several tweets telling them to go home, and if he had issued the posts earlier "we maybe wouldn't be in this bad of a situation."

Ayres said it makes him angry that Trump continues to push election lies.

"I was hanging on every word you're saying," Ayres told the committee. "I was following it. If I was doing it, hundreds of thousands or millions of other people are doing it."