Jan. 6 Panel’s Hearing Focuses on Trump’s Actions During Capitol Riot

WASHINGTON—The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is holding the eighth and last of its summer series of hearings, focusing on an account of activities inside the White House during a 187-minute period following former President Donald Trump’s speech to his supporters that day at the Ellipse.

The panel has said it plans to portray Mr. Trump as failing to respond to the attack, a decision that committee member Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.), who will help lead Thursday’s 8 p.m. ET hearing, called a “dereliction of duty.”

“He literally watched the ship burn and didn’t try to put out the fire,” Ms. Luria, a former Navy officer, said in an interview. She said Mr. Trump’s inaction raises questions about his intentions that day and whether he was in some way in favor of his supporters’ assault on the Capitol.

Previous hearings have focused on Mr. Trump’s efforts to pressure government officials, including his own vice president, Mike Pence, and senior members of the Justice Department, to take steps to help him overturn the election. Mr. Trump and lawyers advising him, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had argued that Mr. Pence could reject electoral votes from several battleground states in an attempt to reverse the results of the 2020 election.