Former deputy national security advisor, deputy press secretary to testify before Jan. 6 committee

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former deputy national security advisor Matthew Pottinger will reportedly testify before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
• Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews will also testify at Thursday’s public hearing.
• Pottinger and Matthews resigned after the assault on the Capitol.

Matthew Pottinger, who served as former President Donald Trump’s National Security advisor will testify publicly before the House select panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews will also testify at Thursday’s primetime hearing.

The committee has not publicly confirmed Thursday’s witnesses but CNN first reported the identities of the witnesses early today.

Both Pottinger and Matthews quit their jobs in the aftermath of theT Jan. 6 attack.

Matthews had described the scene on Jan. 5, 2021, in last week’s hearing, according to the committee. That was the day when Trump called his top aides to the White House. 

In last month’s hearing, the committee showed video testimony from Pottinger in which he said he decided to resign afterTrump attacked former Vice President Mike Pence in a tweet. Trump tweeted “Pence didn’t have the courage” to overturn the election.

“I read that tweet. And made a decision at that moment to resign. That’s where I knew that I was leaving that day, once I had read that tweet,” Pottinger said in recorded testimony.

Matthews has defended Cassidy Hutchinson for giving a testimony in June about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as well as what members of his inner circle knew ahead of the Capitol attack. 

The hearing on Thursday will focus on Trump’s activities for the 187 minutes between when rioters attacked the Capitol and when the former president issued a public response. 

Committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the upcoming hearing will “open people’s eyes in a big way.” 

“I can’t necessarily say that the motives behind every piece of information we know we’ll be able to explain, but this is going to open people’s eyes in a big way,” Kinzinger said. “The reality is, I’ll give you this preview, the president didn’t do very much but gleefully watch television during this time frame.”

Kinzinger urged Americans, particularly his Republican colleagues, to “watch this with an open mind” and ask, “Is this the kind of strong leader you really think you deserve?”

Source: CBS News