The Lessons of the Jan. 6 Committee, According to Congressional Investigations Expert Samuel Dewey

When the House of Representatives convened a special committee to investigate the January 6, 2021, Capital riot, many people weren’t sure what to expect. Samuel Dewey, a congressional investigations expert, points out that the committee was being criticized for not being bipartisan, before it even set out on any of its work.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of the Republican appointees to the committee, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew all members. Pelosi then named two Republicans to the committee on her own, but both of those members — Wyoming’s Liz Cheney and Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger — both voted for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

As such, it was uncertain what real impact the committee’s investigation would have. Now, after multiple public hearings, some of what the committee did may be reflected in future hearings.

Friendly Witnesses

While the January 6 committee took a new approach to congressional investigations in many respects, it stuck to tradition in one important one: The committee relied on witnesses they knew would cooperate with them.

Many of the witnesses who gave testimony at the public hearings the committee held were deposed beforehand. This allowed investigators to vet what the witnesses were likely to say live at the public hearings, which mitigated the possibility that the committee would lose control of the narrative.

This has been a major theme of the congressional investigation and the many public hearings.

Visual Aids

The January 6 committee used many visual aids to help support their findings during the public hearings. This proved to be extremely effective on two fronts.

For one, it made following the committee’s detailed investigations very easy for those who were watching. Second, it allowed the committee to pick and choose which information it presented from witnesses who gave prior depositions but may have proven to be combative during a live hearing.

The latter point helped the committee control the narrative even more, especially with witnesses such as former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr, as well as the former president’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The committee’s public hearings proceeded more like “must-see TV” rather than boring and drab congressional hearings.

Teamwork

Samuel Dewey says that congressional hearings can sometimes become platforms for elected officials to bolster their case for re-election, or to raise their public profile.

The January 6 congressional hearings, though, took a different tone. Only a few members of the panel actually spoke at the multiple public hearings. And all who did take control of the microphone pushed the same narrative.

The fact that all members — whether Democrats or Republicans — seemed to consistently row in the same direction is a dramatic departure from congressional hearings in the past.

About Samuel Dewey

Samuel Dewey is a successful lawyer and former Senior Counsel to the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Chief Investigator and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Mr Dewey specializes in: (1) white collar investigations, compliance, and litigation; (2) regulatory compliance and litigation; and (3) complex public policy matters. Within these fields Mr. Dewey is considered an expert in Congressional investigations and attendant matters. Mr. Dewey has a BA in Political Science, a JD from Harvard, and is admitted to practice law in Washington, DC, and Maryland.