Jan. 6 Hearing Opens With Trump's AG William Barr Calling Stolen Election Claim 'Bullshit'

Donald Trump’s own attorney general told the then-president that his claims of a “stolen” election were “bullshit,” according to videotaped testimony revealed Thursday night at the House Jan. 6 select committee’s first public hearing.

“I told the president it was bullshit, and I didn’t want to be a part of it,” Barr told committee investigators during his deposition.

Committee chair Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said in his opening remarks that the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol was the culmination of a “conspiracy” to hold on to power. “Jan. 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup. The violence was no accident.”

The two-hour presentation recapped a year’s worth of investigative work by the committee, tying together numerous strands that have been known to the public into a story as well as offering nuggets of new information.

Vice chair Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, said in her opening remarks that Americans would hear how Trump resisted calls by his own staff to take action as the violent unfolded on his television screen.