The parliamentary commission investigating Donald Trump’s role in the storming of the Capitol is holding new public hearings on Thursday, the last before the midterm elections, which should reveal “surprising” elements, according to one of its members. from Agerpres.

This time, the commission will not hear live witnesses, but will present video materials, including footage shot by a Danish team for a documentary about Roger Stone, a longtime associate of the former Republican president.

“We will focus on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded,” a parliamentary source explained.

The commission is trying to shed light on Donald Trump’s behavior before, during and after the attack on the Capitol that shocked the world.

On that day, January 6, 2021, Republican partisans stormed the Capitol to try to prevent elected officials from certifying the victory of their Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump still continues to claim that this election was “stolen”.

Since its creation, the commission has heard more than a thousand witnesses, including two children of Donald Trump, and analyzed tens of thousands of documents.

Thursday’s hearing, which could be the last before the investigation’s final report, will address “new elements that we discovered during our work this summer. What the president’s intentions were, what he knew he was doing, what others were doing,” committee member Zoe Lofgren told CNN.

And these new elements are “pretty amazing,” she assured.

The commission is looking into, among other things, ties between former Trump adviser Roger Stone and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, whose members are being prosecuted for their involvement in the storming of the Capitol.

In footage shot by a Danish team just before the 2020 presidential election, Roger Stone can be heard saying he doesn’t care about voting.

“To hell with the vote, let’s get straight to the violence,” he says. “If you see antifa, (you need to) shoot to kill,” he adds.

Stone, who has not been charged in connection with the January 6 incident, has denied the authenticity of the videos, claiming they were faked.

The conservative political consultant, known for his controversial style and a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back, describes himself as a “dirty-trick regular”. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, and then Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

The commission also intends to reveal elements of “hundreds of thousands of pages” provided by the secret service, a parliamentary source said. The elected representatives want to understand why some SMS messages sent by agents on the day of the assault were deleted.

The investigative report is expected to be released by the end of the year, but likely not before the Nov. 8 general election, which will determine which party controls Congress for the remainder of President Biden’s term. However, the preliminary text may be published before the election.

Members of the committee openly suggested that US Attorney General Merrick Garland impeach Donald Trump in connection with the attack on the Capitol. The commission has not said whether it will formally recommend any charges, writes AFP.