0 very place we know for sure was right here, fascinating. a lot of people have told the life of jesus, it's a humbling and audacious task, this is different because we took you there. >> thanks for everybody watching. stay for special coverage of the january 6th select committee meeting right now. >> sandra: special coverage of the january 6th committee proceedings. in just moments the panel will announce criminal referrals to the justice department for prosecution during what is expected to be its final meeting in the investigation of last year's capitol riot. looks like it is just moments away now. welcome, everybody. sandra smith in new york. hello. >> john: good to begin another week with you. this meeting is set to begin at any moment, all nine members of the committee, seven democrats, two republicans will present portions of their findings after an investigation that lasted nearly 18 months. >> sandra: we have been getting some hints of what is to come, leading up to this moment. the panel says it is going to introduce new evidence, including transcripts of interviews as well as depositions. >> john: the hearing, we expect will probably last an hour, maybe a little bit more, will wrap up with a vote on the final vote and lawmakers are expected to issue several criminal referrals targeting former president trump and his allies for their roles in the capitol riot and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. >> sandra: we will see what comes from this, john. this is all convening this afternoon. this is likely to be the final public meeting, we are told, at least, on this monday afternoon, and this really culminates a year and a half long inquiry, john, into all this, that brings us to this point on capitol hill this afternoon. >> john: congress will be turning over in just a little more than a couple of weeks, and so republicans certainly are not going to be pursuing this any further than the democrats have. what will be interesting to find out, and we'll talk about the legal experts about this, there will be criminal referrals of the president and some of the other players who have come to light during these series of january 6th hearings. adam schiff believes that there is reason for criminal referrals. he's been after the president as you know for a long, long time. he said "in terms of the criminal statute, if you can prove someone incited an insurrection, incited violence against the government or aid and comfort to those who did, that violates the law." so we'll see what congress does. a lot of people think this, sandra, is nothing more than a political exercise if there are referrals to the justice department. >> sandra: we will see when it's underway moments from now. andy mccarthy first, as we await what the panel will introduce, sort of the final act, if you will. what are your expectations for today, andy? >> act is a good way of putting it, sandra. it's theater. the best thing said about criminal referrals is that they don't make any difference to the justice department. i say that's the best thing that can be said because the worst thing that could be said is if you actually have a case as a good prosecutor that is evidence-based and that you could get convictions on, a congressional referral of the kind we are talking about here can actually be used by the defendant at trial to suggest that the prosecution is a political exercise rather than something that's evidence-driven. we should remember that these referrals, if that's what we are going to see, are completely unenforceable. they have no legal effect. prosecutors do their own investigation, their own means of gathering evidence and frankly better at assessing it than congress because it's not only their job to do that, they are accountable. the january 6th committee makes a recommendation for prosecution and there's a prosecution that happens that ends in acquittal, they walk away unscathed. justice department has to live with that record. >> john: jonathan, if you look at this and presentation of the january 6th committee, two republicans on it so they can say it's partisan, not the republicans that kevin mccarthy wanted on the panel. however his topics were disallowed, he decided he was going to walk away from the entire process. through this process we have seen what amounts to, you know, almost a congressional prosecution of the events of january 6th, there was no rebuttal, really, whatsoever, we are talked about this before. so, if there are criminal referrals that come out of this, is it going to look as andy suggested like a very one-sided politically motivated action? >> well, the committee really did destroy its own credibility and how it proceeded. both sides have pointed fingers at each other about a relatively unprecedented framing of this committee that have no members effectively appointed by the opposing party. these committees generally have left to the individual parties to select their members. but even after that fight was over, the committee could have gone further to guarantee greater balance. they could have allowed for more witnesses to give opposing views, alternative views or interpretations. they didn't. this was highly scripted. they brought in a producer, they had members reading from teleprompters. witnesses were sort of like props, and looked more performative than investigative. and i think it's a shame. there is material that came out of the committee that's deeply disturbing. it's not proprietary ownership of the democratic party. riot on january 6th was a desecration of our constitutional process and yet it's been weaponized to some extent by this committee which did not pursue other issues in these public sessions. such as why was the capitol so poorly prepared for a potential riot even they were warned. but adam schiff, who says we are going to introduce bombshell new evidence, and then replayed much of the other evidence. we will see if they have a direct evidence of the conspiracy or if it's a performative act. >> sandra: looks like they are about to gavel in. >> justice department has prosecuted upwards of 800 people and have not alleged trump is a co-conspirator, particularly the violent crimes they have investigated and prosecuted in connection with january 6th. >> john: jonathan, you want to quickly speak to that? >> yeah, i think that's part of the disconnect here, much of the evidence are things that didn't occur, letters written that were not sent, appointments suggested and not made. you can't make a criminal case out of that, at least not an easy one. >> quorum being present, select committee to investigate the january 6th attack on the united states capitol will be in order. without objection the chair authorized to declare the committee in recess at any point. pursuant to house deposition authority regulation 10, the chair announces the committee's approval to release deposition material presented during today's meeting and further its approval to release deposition material that accompanies release of the select committee final report. good afternoon, and may god bless the united states of america. to cast a vote in the united states is an act of faith and hope. when we drop that ballot in the ballot box we expect the people named on the ballot are going to uphold their end of the deal. the winner swears an oath and upholds it. those who come up short ultimately accept the results and abide by the rule of law. that faith in our system is the foundation of american democracy. if the faith is broken, so is our democracy. donald trump broke that faith, he lost 2020 election and knew it but he chose to try to stay in office through a multi-part scheme to overturn the results and block the transfer of power. in the end, he summoned a mob to washington and knowingly they were on and angry, pointed them to the capitol and told them to fight like hell. there's no doubt about this. this afternoon my colleagues will present our key findings, reminding you of some of the information we presented in earlier hearings and telling you how it fits in our broader conclusions. those conclusions have helped shape the committee's final report we will adopt pursuant to house resolution 503, which establishes the select committee nearly a year and a half ago. i expect our final work will be filed with the clerk of the house and made public later this week. beyond that release, the select committee intends to make public the bulk of its nonsensitive records before the end of the year. these transcripts and documents will allow the american people to see for themselves the body of evidence we have gathered and continue to explore, the information that has led us to our conclusions. this committee is nearing the end of its work. but as the country, we remain in strange and unchartered waters. we have never had a president of the united states stir up a violent attempt to block the transfer of power. i believe nearly two years later this is still a time of reflection and reckoning. if we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again. how do we stop it? this committee will lay out a number of recommendations in this final report but beyond any specific details and recommendations we present as one factor i believe is most important in preventing another january 6th accountability. so today beyond our findings we will also show that evidence we have gathered points to further action beyond the power of this committee or the congress to help ensure accountability on the law. accountability that can only be found in the criminal justice system. we have every confidence the work of this committee will help provide a road map to justice and the agencies and institutions responsible for ensuring justice under the law will use the information we provided to aid in their work. and for those of you who have followed this committee's work, i hope we have helped make clear that there is a broader kind of accountability, accountability to all of you, the american people. the future of our democracy rests in your hands. it's up to the people of this country to decide who deserves the public trust, who put fidelity to the constitution and democracy above all else. who will abide by the rule of law, no matter the outcome. i'm grateful to the millions of you who followed this committee's work. i hope we lived up to our commitment to present the facts and let the facts speak for themselves. let me say in closing, the women and men seated around me on this dias are public servants in the most genuine sense. they put aside politics and partisanship to ensure the success of this committee in providing answers to the american people. i especially want to thank and acknowledge our vice chair, who has become a true partner in this bipartisan effort. miss cheney of wyoming. and i also recognize her for any opening statement that she would care to offer. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and thank you for your tremendous leadership of this committee. i know we all have benefitted greatly from your wisdom and your wise counsel. thank very much. in april of 1861 when abraham lincoln issued the first call for volunteers for the union army, my great, great grandfather, samuel fletcher cheney, joined the 21st ohio volunteer infantry. he fought through all four years of the civil war. stonesriver, to atlanta, he marched with his unit in the grand review of troops up pennsylvania avenue in may of 1865, past a reviewing stand where president johnson and general grant were seated. silas canfield, regimental historian of the 21st ohio volunteer infantry described the men in the unit this way. he said they had a just appreciation of the value and advantage of free government, and the necessity of defending and maintaining it. and they enlisted, prepared to accept all the necessary labors, fatigues, exposures, dangers, and even death, for the unity of our nation and the perpetuity of our institutions. i have found myself thinking often, especially since january 6th, of my great, great grandfather, and all those in every generation who have sacrificed so much for the unity of our nation and the perpetuity of our institutions. at the heart of our republic is the guarantee of the peaceful transfer of power. members of congress are reminded of this every day as we pass through the capitol rotunda. there, eight magnificent paintings detail the earliest days of our republic. one painted by john trumbell, depicts the moment in 1793 when george washington resigned his commission handing control of the continental army back to congress. trumbell called this "one of the highest moral lessons ever given the world." with this noble act, george washington established the peaceful transfer of power in our nation. standing on the west front of the capitol in 1981, president ronald reagan described it this way. the orderly transfer of authority as called for in the constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. in the eyes of many in the world, this every four-year ceremony that we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle. every president in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority except one. january 6, 2021, was the first time one american president refused his constitutional duty to transfer power peacefully to the next. in our work over the last 18 months, the select committee has recognized our obligation to do everything we can to ensure this never happens again. at the beginning of our investigation, we understood that tens of millions of americans had been persuaded by president trump that the 2020 election was stolen by overwhelming fraud. and we also knew this was flatly false. knew dozens of state and federal judges had addressed and resolved all manner of allegations. our president would not accept the outcome. among the most shameful of this committee's findings was that president trump sat in the dining room off the oval office watching the violent riot at the capitol on television. for hours he would not issue a public statement instructing his supporters to disperse and leave the capitol despite urgent pleas from his white house staff and dozens of others to do so. members of his family, his white house lawyers, virtually all those around him knew that this simple act was critical. for hours he would not do it. during this time, law enforcement agents were attacked and seriously injured. capitol was invaded, electoral was halted, and lives at risk. in addition to being unlawful, it was an utter moral failure and clear dereliction of duty. evidence of this can be seen in the testimony of president trump's own white house counsel and several other white house witnesses. no man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. he is unfit for any office. the committee recognizes that our work has only begun, only the initial step in addressing president trump's effort to remain in office illegally. p prosecutors are considering the conduct we describe in the report. as are citizens across the nation. 1761, john adams wrote, the very ground of our liberties is the freedom of elections. faith in our elections and the rule of law is paramount to our republic. election deniers, those who refuse to accept lawful election results purposely attack the rule of law and the foundation of our country. the history of our time will show that the bravery of a handful of americans doing their duty saved us from an even more grave constitutional crisis. elected officials, election workers, and public servants stood against donald trump's corrupt pressure. many of our committee's witnesses showed selfless patriotism and their words and courage will be remembered. the brave men and women of the capitol police, the metropolitan police and all the other law enforcement officers who fought to divide us that day saved lives and our democracy. finally, i wish to thank my colleagues on this committee. it has been a tremendous honor to serve with all of you. we have accomplished great and important things together, and i hope we have set an example, and i also want to think all of those who have honorably committed to the work of our committee and the report. we have accomplished much for a short period of time. sackis foo -- you have sacrificed for the country. >> this is our final meeting of our committee. over the course of the last year and a half we presented evidence in ten public hearings, testimony from our brave law enforcement officers, senior white house, and campaign officials and many others. today we are prepared to share our final findings with you. but before we do so, it's important to remember what we have learned and critically exactly what happened at the united states capitol on january 6th. without objection, i include in the record a video presentation of some of the key evidence our investigation has uncovered. >> there were officers on the ground, they were bleeding, they were throwing up, i mean, i saw friends with blood all over their faces. i was slipping in people's blood. >> as swarmed by a violent mob, ripped off my badge, stripped me of my radio, seized ammunition secured to my body, began to beat me with their fists and felt like hard metal objects. >> the key thing to do is claim victory, we won, [bleep] you, sorry, we are wrong, [bleep] you. >> out of the box on election night the president claimed that there was major fraud underway, i mean, this happened as far as i could tell before there was any potential of looking at evidence. >> that led to me stepping away. >> generally discussed on that topic was whether the fraud administration abused irregularities, if aggregated and read most favorably to the campaign would that be outcome determinative, and i think everyone's assessment in the room, at least among the staff, it was not sufficient to be outcome determinant. >> i told him that i did believe, yes, that once those legal processes were run, if fraud had not been established, affected the outcome of the election, that unfortunately i believed what had to be done was concede the outcome. >> what were the chances of president trump winning the election. >> after that point? >> yes. >> none. >> so what are we going to do here, folks? i only need 11,000 folks, fellas, i need 11,000 votes, give me a break. >> numbers are the numbers, numbers don't lie. many allegations, investigated every one of them. >> did one of them make a comment they didn't have evidence but had a lot of theories? >> that was mr. giuliani. >> what did he say? >> my recollection, he said we have lots of theories, just don't have the evidence. you are asking me to do something that's never been done in history, the history of the united states. and i'm going to put my state through that? without sufficient proof? >> tape earlier in the day of ruby freeman and two other people, quite obviously, passing around usb ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine. >> mr. giuliani accused you and your mom of passing a usb drive. what was your mom handing you on the video? >> an ginger mint. >> do you know how it feels to have the president of the united states to target you? the president of the united states is supposed to represent every american. not to target one. >> i made it clear i did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff which i told the president was bull [bleep]. >> he wanted to talk about he thought the election had been stolen or was corrupt and that there was widespread fraud, and i had told him that our reviews had not shown that to be the case. >> and i said something to the effect of sir, we have done dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews, the major allegations are not supported by the evidence developed. >