January 6 Committee Wraps Summer Hearings With Footage of Hawley Fleeing, Detailed Account of Trump’s Day

Don’t say the January 6 committee never gave you anything. Last night’s hearing—the eighth of its kind, the second aired in prime time, and the last one until September—was focused on former President Donald Trump’s actions as the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was taking place. But its most memorable moment revolved around Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who infamously raised a fist in solidarity as he walked by the MAGA mob early in the day.

It was a different story for Hawley a few hours later. In newly disclosed footage, Hawley can be seen running to flee rioters in the building.

The footage elicited laughter from people in the hearing room yesterday and has quickly become a meme online. See, for instance, this thread of “Josh Hawley running away to a variety of soundtracks”:

Josh Hawley running away to a variety of soundtracks.

Pt. 1: Chariots of Fire #January6thCommitteeHearing pic.twitter.com/tVCf2R5tUD

— Mallory Nees (@The_Mal_Gallery) July 22, 2022

Sowing Reaping pic.twitter.com/2TT804jQYe

— Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) July 22, 2022

The meat of last night’s hearing concerned White House officials’ attempts to persuade Trump to act during the riot and the former president’s reticence to do so. Instead, Trump hung out in the presidential dining room watching footage of the riot on TV, former White House officials said. Trump “told Mark Meadows that the rioters were doing what they should be doing and the rioters understood they were doing what President Trump wanted them to do,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R–Ill.) summed things up.

Trump never reached out to the Department of Defense or any law enforcement bodies—to the chagrin of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. “You’re the commander in chief—you’ve got an assault going on the Capitol of the United States of America and there’s nothing? No call? Nothing? Zero?” said Milley in audio from his deposition.

???????? #PrinciplesFirst alert:

Sarah Matthews (R): “January 6…was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history and Pres. Trump was treating it as a celebratory occasion.”

Thank you for speaking truth, Sarah. The American people deserve to hear it. pic.twitter.com/9pERCp7XjS

— Principles First (@Principles_1st) July 22, 2022

The committee played video footage of Trump taping a statement the day after the riot. “But this election is now over. Congress has certified the results,” Trump said in one outtake before stopping and saying, “I don’t want to say the election is over. I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, OK?”

Rep. Liz Cheney (R–Wyo.) closed yesterday’s hearing by pointing out that so much detail and criticism about Trump’s handling of the events of January 6 came not from “witnesses who were his political enemies,” but from “Donald Trump’s own appointees, his own friends, his own campaign officials, people who worked for him for years, and his own family. They have come forward and they have told the American people the truth.”

The committee also revealed that former Vice President Mike Pence had been stuck in his office for 13 minutes while folks tried to figure how to get him safely out of the building. In audio footage from Pence’s Secret Service agents, you can