January 6 Hearing Day 8 Highlights: From Donald Trump's Inaction to Josh Hawley Running Away From Same Mob He Helped Incite

The January 6 committee resumed with its eighth public hearing on Thursday, revealing plenty of details about what happened on that fateful day when pro-Donald Trump rioters staged an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The hearing mainly focused on what the former president was doing while the insurrection was happening. The panel also looked at what was happening around him.

January 6 Hearing Day 8 Highlights: Focusing on Donald Trump's Inaction

Specifically, the January 6 committee focused on the 197 minutes between Donald Trump's speech to finally tweeting something to encourage the rioters to go home.

Donald Trump's Failure to Act as His Followers Rioted

As he went back to the White House, Donald Trump was glued to the TV and watched as the violence at the U.S. Capitol unfolded. The committee showed that Trump did not only fail to act but chose not to do anything.

According to CNN, several witnesses who were inside the White House and had first-hand knowledge of what was happening testified that the former president did not place a single phone call to law enforcement or national security officials.

The panel also revealed that interviews with senior law enforcement, military leaders, D.C. local government officials, and former Vice President Mike Pence's staff showed that they did not hear anything from the president as the attack unfolded. The committee said that this inaction is tantamount to dereliction of duty.

Donald Trump Did Not Want to Call for Peace, and Only Act After Ivanka Trump Convinced Him To

During the testimony by former White House press aide Sarah Matthews, she revealed that Donald Trump resisted calling for peace.

The former president attacked Mike Pence with a tweet on January 6, fueling many of the rioters. Matthews then went to her boss, then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and urged her to tell Trump that he needed to condemn the violence.

The former press secretary then left to ask Trump to calm things down, only to hear from him that he had sent a tweet, but it did not call for peace. She then told Matthews in a "hushed tone" that Trump did not "want to include any sort of mention of peace in that tweet."

It was not until Ivanka Trump suggested that her father tweet out the phrase "stay peaceful" that he finally agreed, according to NBC News.

White House Lawyer Said White House Staff Wanted the Rioters to Go Home, But Donald Trump Did Not

The panel also showed testimony from Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone. He said that White House staff wanted the rioters to leave the Capitol and go home. However, the former Trump lawyer suggested that the former president did not want them to.

Many of Trump's aides were reportedly appalled by his actions, as they believed he was pouring more "gasoline on the fire" with his condemnation of Mike Pence. According to the Associated Press, two of his aides resigned on the spot.

In her testimony before the panel, Sarah Matthews said that January 6 was one of the darkest days in the history of the United States. However, she added that Trump was treating it as a celebratory occasion. "

"So it just further cemented my decision to resign," she noted.

Witnesses Corroborate Heated Exchange Between Donald Trump and His Secret Service Detail

One of the biggest bombshells from previous hearings on January 6 was Donald Trump's confrontations with the Secret Service detail tasked with protecting him. At one point, the former president even tried taking the wheel from an agent driving the presidential vehicle.

During the eighth hearing, more witnesses corroborated that the story was true. The panel presented two witnesses who confirmed the story of the heated exchange.

One was a White House aide with national security responsibilities, while the second witness was former DC Police Sgt. Mark Robinson, who was assigned to the former president's motorcade on January 6.

Robinson said Trump was upset and was adamant about going to the Capitol. He then noted that Trump had a "heated discussion" with secret service agents, who were also adamant about not letting him go to the Capitol.

Josh Hawley Ran Away From the Mob He Helped Incite

While the panel mostly focused on what Donald Trump was doing on that fateful day, they also showed footage of what Senator Josh Hawley was up to.

Hawley reportedly showed support to the rioters with a fist pump and helped rile them up. But the panel also showed footage of him running away from the same mob he helped incite. The footage elicited a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Public Hearings on January 6 Will Resume in September

Finally, the committee announced they will take a break from the public hearings over the summer. However, that does not mean they will not be working. Rep. Liz Cheney said they will spend the month of August gathering more evidence before convening in September.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Sen. Josh Hawley Running on January 6th - From C-SPAN