This has been discovered by the commission investigating the assault on the Capitol

Why did Trump sue the commission investigating the insurrection?

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(CNN) - It

has been six dramatic months since the creation of the select committee of the House of Representatives that investigates the assault on the Capitol that occurred on January 6.

Much of the commission's work has thus far taken place behind closed doors, and an interim report is not expected to be available before the summer (in the Northern Hemisphere), so the panel has generated more headlines so far for the twists and turns. returns from its investigation than from the revelations it produced.

• The January 6 commission has "first-hand" information on Trump's behavior in the assault on the Capitol from multiple sources.

But there were not only closed-door interviews, document requests and legal confrontations.

Here are some of the panel's findings that were made public.

Trump's behavior during the assault on the capitol

The commission investigating the Capitol robbery has information from multiple sources with first-hand knowledge describing what then-President Donald Trump was doing during the riots, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

"There is a list of people with relevant information," the source told CNN's Jamie Gangel.

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Fox anchors contacted Meadows on Jan.6 5:41 am

A key witness who testified is Keith Kellogg, then Vice President Mike Pence's national security adviser, who was with Trump in the White House when the riots broke out.

The commission advances on the assault on the Capitol

The commission also has texts and other documents that shed light on what Trump was doing, according to the source.

Some of those messages came from Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, who provided them to the panel.

The House of Representatives voted last month to refer Meadows to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress after he failed to appear for a deposition.

"We have significant testimony that leads us to believe that the White House had been ordered to do something," commission chair Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

"We want to verify all this so that when we prepare our report and when we have the hearings, the public has the opportunity to see it for themselves," he said.

"All I can say is that it is very unusual for anyone in charge of something to see what is going on and not do anything."

Meadows text messages, according to commission

Donald Trump's son, Fox News personalities and lawmakers unsuccessfully implored Meadows on Jan.6 for Trump to halt the violence unleashed on the U.S. Capitol, according to text messages relayed by the commission investigating the Capitol robbery. .

New images show severity of assault on Capitol 2:50

The messages were read by the members of the commission investigating the robbery on Capitol in the plenary session of the House before referring to the Department of Justice the criminal contempt of Congress against Meadows.

Donald Trump Jr.

"You have to condemn this shit as soon as possible. The tweet from the Capitol Police is not enough," Trump Jr. wrote in a message to Meadows, according to the commission's vice chairman, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Cheney explained that when Meadows responded with a text message that he agreed, Trump Jr. said: "We need a speech from the White House. (Trump) has to lead now. This went too far and got out of hand." .

People inside the Capitol, including legislators

The congresswoman also read aloud the messages that she claimed had been sent between Meadows and people inside the Capitol complex during the attack:

"A text Mr. Meadows received said, 'We are under siege here on Capitol Hill,'" Cheney said.

"Another, 'They broke into the Capitol.' In a third, 'Hey, Mark, protesters are literally storming the Capitol. Breaking windows in doors. Rushing in. Is Trump going to say something? an armed confrontation at the door of the House of Representatives', "he said.

Fox News anchors

"In fact, according to the records, multiple Fox News anchors knew the president had to act immediately," Cheney said, adding: "They sent text messages to Mr. Meadows, and he delivered those texts."

Trump's Justifications for Threats Against Pence 3:15

"I quote: 'Mark, the President has to tell the Capitol people to go home. This is hurting us all. He is destroying his legacy,' wrote Laura Ingraham. 'Please get him on TV. He's destroying all you've accomplished, "wrote Brian Kilmeade." Can you make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol? "

Sean Hannity urged, "Cheney said.

The big lie, up close

Other messages to Meadows released by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California last month show correspondence before and after the 2020 presidential election focused on keeping Trump in power.

Message about Jeffrey Clark

Schiff read text from an unknown number applauding the possible appointment of Jeffrey Clark as Acting Attorney General as Trump tried to get the Justice Department to support his false claims of voter fraud.

"I have heard that Jeff Clark will be put on Monday. That is incredible. It will make many patriots happy, and personally I am very proud that you are at the tip of the spear, and to be able to call you my friend," read the text addressed to Meadows.

Clark was one of the strong advocates in the Justice Department of using the department's power to investigate unfounded allegations of voter fraud, but was rebuffed by the department's leadership.

List of Trump aides cited to testify 2:26 increased

Message suggesting an "aggressive" strategy

On November 4, 2020, the day after the election, Meadows received a text message suggesting an "aggressive strategy" for Republican-led state legislatures to "just send their own constituents" to Congress and let the Supreme Court decide who had won the election.

Members of the commission investigating the assault on the capitol believe that Rick Perry, former governor of Texas and Secretary of Energy in the Trump administration, was the author of that message.

A spokesperson for Perry told CNN that he denies being the author of the text message.

Multiple people who know Perry confirmed to CNN that the phone number the commission has associated with that text message is his.

Elusive correspondence

Another text message from a member of Congress to Meadows underscored how the commission did not get everything from the former White House chief of staff.

"Please check your signal," the January 5 message read, referring to the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Shocking testimonies collected by the commission

The panel's first and only public hearing so far featured shocking testimonies from security agents who experienced firsthand the violent events of January 6 at the hands of the pro-Trump mob.

Although some of the police officers had already shared their accounts of the attack publicly, their sworn testimony in July presented the assault on the Capitol with chilling clarity.

Meadows Backed Trump Lie About 2:21 Insurrection

Aquilino Gonell, Capitol Police Sergeant

"The physical violence we experienced was horrible and devastating," he said.

"My colleagues and I were punched, kicked, shoved, sprayed with irritating chemicals and even blinded with eye-damaging lasers from a violent mob."

"I was especially shocked to see how the insurgents attacked us violently with the same American flag that they claimed to want to protect," he said.

Michael Fanone, Washington Metropolitan Police Officer

He said that he had been "grabbed, beaten, electrocuted, all while calling me a traitor to my country" and that he "ran the risk of being stripped and killed with my own firearm while listening to the chants of 'Kill him with his own weapon.' I can still hear those words in my head today. "

Pointing to efforts to rewrite the history of the assault on the Capitol, he said: "What makes the fight harder and more painful is knowing that many of my fellow citizens, including many of the people for whom I put my life at risk to defending them, they are downplaying or openly denying what happened. "

Daniel Hodges, a Washington Metropolitan Police Officer,

He described the rioters as "terrorists" and compared the mob to a "cult", saying at one point in his testimony: "The terrorists crossed the line and engaged us in hand-to-hand combat. One of them grabbed me. my face and he stuck his thumb in my right eye, trying to rip it off. I screamed in pain and managed to shake it off. "

Harry Dunn, Capitol Police Officer

He stated that the rioters repeatedly directed racist insults at him.

"In the days following the attempted insurrection, other black agents shared their own stories of racial abuse with me on January 6," he said.

At one point, he recalled getting emotional and yelling, "Is this America?" As he began to sob as other officers tried to comfort him.

Liz Cheney asks if Trump organized attack on Capitol 1:13

A summer hit?

The panel is working towards the goal of publishing an interim report with initial findings for this summer (from the northern hemisphere), a commission adviser told CNN, and a final report after next fall.

Members of the commission investigating the assault on the Capitol said they hope to present more of the work done in a public setting this year, which would include hearings outlining the story of what happened on January 6.

The specific timetable for these hearings has not yet been set.

The source said the timing of these possible reports, first reported by

, is subject to change.

"We don't have a specific date," Thompson told CNN last month, when asked when the panel would begin holding public hearings.

"But we will have some ongoing hearings that will go on for a while. It will be a non-traditional type of hearing."

With input from Jamie Gangel, Clare Foran, Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer, and Ryan Nobles.

Assault on the Capitol