Trump Calls Off Jan. 6 Press Conference

He blames 'dishonesty' of House committee
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 3, 2022 3:00 AM CST
Updated Jan 4, 2022 6:14 PM CST
Trump Has Jan. 6 Plans
Supporters loyal to President Donald Trump attend a rally on the Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Update: Donald Trump has called off a press conference that would have taken place at Mar-a-Lago Wednesday while a prayer service was being held at the Capitol on the anniversary of last year's Jan. 6 riot. In a statement, the former president said he was calling off the event because of the "total bias and dishonesty" of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, the Hill reports. Trump, who referred to the panel as the "Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media," had reportedly planned to repeat his claim that the 2020 election was "stolen." He said Tuesday that he will discuss "those important topics" at a Jan. 15 rally in Arizona instead. Our rundown from Monday follows:

The one-year anniversary of the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol is coming up Thursday, and former President Trump has plans. While a prayer service is going on at the Capitol, Trump will be at Mar-a-Lago, giving a news conference at which he plans to repeat the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election, Politico reports. It was, of course, that claim that led to the Capitol attack in the first place, with his supporters breaching the Capitol to insist the election was stolen. And though, after that day, many predicted Trump's hold over the Republican party would loosen, Politico talks to many observers who say it has only tightened since then; nearly 75% of Republicans still believe voter fraud cost Trump the election. See its full story here or read on for more of the news surrounding the anniversary:

  • Liz Cheney went on ABC News' This Week on Sunday and said the House panel investigating the Capitol attack has "firsthand testimony" that Ivanka Trump directly asked her father to put a stop to the riot at least two times, CNBC reports. On CBS' Face the Nation the same day, she said Trump is "at war with the rule of law" every time he continues making assertions that the election was stolen, the Hill reports.
  • The chairman of the panel, Bennie Thompson, was also on several of the Sunday talk shows, and, asked on CNN about the possibility of a criminal referral for Trump, he said, "If there's anything we come upon as a committee that we think would warrant a referral to the Department of Justice, we'll do that."
  • The panel's probe is surprisingly popular among Republicans, a new poll finds, per Politico. About 40% of them said they approve of it, with 44% disapproving and 16% saying they don't have an opinion. Among Democrats, 82% were in favor.
  • The AP is out with an in-depth look at Ashli Babbitt, the Trump supporter killed during the Capitol breach, whom many on the right have painted as a martyr. Per the AP, however, she had a history of "erratic and sometimes threatening behavior."
(More Capitol riot stories.)

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