Pottinger is scheduled to appear alongside former Trump White House aide Sarah Matthews.
CNN previously reported that Matthews, who served as undersecretary of press at Trump’s White House until he resigned shortly after Jan. 6, 2021, was expected to testify publicly. When she resigned, Matthews said she was honored to serve in the Trump administration, but “was deeply disturbed by what I saw.” He said at the time, “Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”
Pottinger, Trump’s deputy national security adviser, resigned in response to Trump’s reaction to the rape of his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, a person close to Pottinger told CNN at the time of his resignation. He told people there was very little to consider, the person said at the time.
The committee’s vice president, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, described Pottinger during one of the committee’s previous hearings: “A former Navy intelligence officer who served in the White House for four years, including , included as an advisor to national security., was in the vicinity of the Oval Office at various points throughout the day “.
The committee played a video clip of Pottinger’s interview in which he described the time when he knew it was time to resign.
“One of my employees brought me an impression of a tweet from the president, and the tweet said something in the sense that Mike Pence, the vice president, didn’t have the courage to do what he, what he should have done. of having done. I read this tweet and made the decision to resign at that time. That’s where I knew I would leave that day once I read the tweet. “
A spokesman for the commission declined to comment. A Pottinger spokesman did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The public has now heard the live testimony of more than a dozen witnesses and seen clips of the recorded statements of more than 40 more people, including members of the Trump family, former administration officials, GOP officials from the key battlefield states and former president members. legal team.
Thursday’s hearing will mark the second session of the panel at prime time, and committee members have said they will examine Trump’s inaction for 187 minutes as the U.S. Capitol riot unfolds.
Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, who will lead Thursday’s hearing with Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, told CNN that the committee will “go almost minute by minute” through the actions of the then president.
“I was not doing anything to stop the riot,” Virginia Democrat told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
One person not expected to attend Thursday’s hearing in person is committee chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. Thompson announced Tuesday that he tested positive for Covid-19 and would be isolated in the coming days. A committee spokesman said Thursday’s hearing would not be affected. On Tuesday, the committee met with former Trump aide to the White House Garrett Ziegler, a former aide to then-White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, who could provide additional information to the committee. on the circumstances surrounding a heated Oval Office meeting on December 18, 2020. During that 2020 meeting, White House attorneys clashed with Trump’s outside allies regarding his extreme proposals on how to cancel the 2020 presidential election. CNN reported earlier that the confiscation of voting machines and the appointment of a special lawyer to investigate the baseless allegations of widespread electoral fraud were discussed.
This title and history have been updated with additional reports.
CNN’s Jamie Gangel contributed to this report.