Rep. Bennie Thompson Says Trump ‘Betrayed His Oath’

The chairman of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot has opened Thursday's prime-time hearing by saying that congressional investigators have told the story in public sessions over the past weeks of a president — Donald Trump — who did everything he could to stay in power.

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi says of Trump: “He lied, he bullied, he betrayed his oath.”

The committee is taking a close examination of Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021 — a day of violence in Washington. The focus of this hearing is on the three-plus hours during the insurrection at the Capitol when Trump failed to act to stop the attack.

Starting with President Trump’s “Save America Rally” speech, to rioters breaching the U.S. Capitol and ending with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris confirmed as the next President and Vice President of the U.S., here’s a look at what happened at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.

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Thompson says that despite the erupting violence that day, Trump “could not be moved.”

The congressman also says the committee continues to hear from witnesses and plans to reconvene in September to continue laying out its story to the public.

Thompson is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 and is attending the hearing by video.