U.S. House panel eyes interim report by summer 2022 on Jan. 6 attack

[December 29, 2021]    By Jan Wolfe

(Reuters) - The congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is aiming to release an interim report in the summer of 2022 and a final report in the fall, a source familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday.

A mob of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis

The timetable, first reported by the Washington Post, would allow the committee to release findings before the November 2022 congressional elections. Republicans, who generally oppose the Select Committee's work, are currently favored to reclaim control of the U.S. House of Representatives in that election, which would allow them to end the panel's work.

The House's Jan. 6 Select Committee is investigating the causes of the attack, including former President Donald Trump's actions and his efforts to change the results of the election.

Trump told the crowd of supporters he would never concede the Nov. 3 election and urged them to "fight like hell" before they went to the Capitol, where lawmakers were preparing to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory.

The committee has issued more than 50 subpoenas and heard from more than 300 witnesses in its investigation of the attack.

The panel has been working mostly behind closed doors, but its leaders have said they plan to hold public hearings in the months ahead.

Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer died the next day of injuries sustained while defending Congress. Hundreds of police were injured during the multi-hour onslaught by Trump supporters, and four officers have since taken their own lives.

More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the assault on the Capitol.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Boston; Editing by Mark Porter)

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