“It was very impressive, this description of a real scene of war”, told Friday June 10 on franceinfo Corentin Sellin, associate professor of history and columnist for the site Les Jours. He followed the first hearings of the Commission of Inquiry into the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, broadcast live and in prime time on American television channels.
The description of the scenes of violence by a policewoman and the broadcast of new images of the riot gripped the audience, according to the historian: “We really felt the emotion. We also saw the impact of these images and this testimony which recalled how this riot had marked the history of the United States by its violence.
franceinfo: What do you remember from these first hearings?
Corentin Sellin: The first is the very strong political questioning of Donald Trump and his responsibility for the January 6 insurrection. The head of the Thompson commission and his main aide, the elected Republican Liz Cheney, did say that there was a plot, an attempted coup that was made to benefit Donald Trump and to keep him in power. power. It was still very impressive to hear that in the context of a parliamentary hearing broadcast on live television.
What role did Donald Trump play?
He took advantage of it, he incited. To use a formula that has been used, he “lit the fuse” which exploded. It will be the interest of the next sessions to know what is his degree of involvement and especially of coordination with the rioters. It was really the first impact, the first shock. It was really very impressive.
The second thing to remember corresponds rather to the second part of the hearing. These were live testimonies from the police, in particular from a Capitol policewoman who intervened that day, with the addition of never before shown images of the riot. It was incredibly violent. This is what the policewoman described: something of a violence of war, a scene of war. That is to say with people who were there to hurt, even to kill. She said that she had never been prepared for this, to experience such a scene, that she had slipped on blood. It was very impressive, this description of a real scene of war.
“We sometimes heard the reactions of the public on the spot. We really felt the emotion. We also saw the impact of these images and this testimony which recalled how much this riot had marked the history of the United States by its violence. . It was a very strong moment of this first audition.”
Corentin Sellin, associate professor of historyat franceinfo
These hearings are broadcast on all American channels except Fox News. Is it important to mobilize the Americans?
It is very important because we must not forget that we are already 18 months after the events. Of course, time has done its work. There were other things in the news and therefore we must seek maximum exposure to recall the historical gravity of what happened. This is what the Commission of Inquiry into the insurrection of January 6, 2021 is looking for by having chosen prime time. Other auditions will normally not be in prime time. They will take place during the day.
“Obviously, there is also a political issue. We are approaching the 2022 elections, the midterm elections in which ex-President Trump plays a big role on the Republican side.”
Corentin Sellin, associate professor of historyat franceinfo
Republican Liz Cheney was targeted because she participates in this commission. They are only two Republicans to participate in this commission. She also appealed to her colleagues, one would be tempted to say “former” Republican colleagues, saying to them: when Donald Trump is gone, your attitude towards this January 6, only your dishonor will remain if you keep supporting him blindly. We can see that there is also a political impact, which is expected by this prime time exhibition.
This commission will transmit its evidence to Justice. The second time will be judicial?
This is a central question, obviously. We find the pattern of Watergate, the famous scandal of the 1970s with President Nixon, that is to say a parliamentary commission of inquiry which hears witnesses with the impact also media and on the other side, a justice federal government conducting its own investigation. What degree of cooperation between the two? The great difficulty for federal justice is that a former president has never been prosecuted in the history of the United States. Can the current Minister of Justice, appointed by Joe Biden, take, based on the findings of the parliamentary commission of inquiry transmitted to him, this historic decision to prosecute an ex-president for some kind of conspiracy against the state? This is really a central question. We don’t have the answer at the moment.