Defense & National Security — The road ahead for Jan. 6 panel 

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol held its first public hearing in months last night and left viewers with a roadmap of what’s to come.   

We’ll recap the hearing and look at what to expect. Plus, we’ll talk about Defense Secretary Lloyd’s Austin warning to his Chinese counterpart over Taiwan.  

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Panel outlines next moves after prime-time hearing 

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol outlined its next moves during its Thursday night hearing.  

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s vice chair, spent her opening remarks detailing how the panel will break down how former President Trump engaged in a “sophisticated seven-part plan” to remain in power.   

But first, about last night:

• The committee put former President Trump in the middle of a coordinated effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and remain in power.
  
• The committee also heard from Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards and filmmaker Nick Quested, who testified about the right-wing group Proud Boys’ role in the attack

But the panel also used the words of those closest to the former president to make the case that he was at the center of a coordinated effort to overturn the election.  

This included video of former Attorney General William Barr telling investigators that he said Trump’s claims about voter fraud were “bullshit.” In a separate video, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump said that she accepted what Barr said.  

The committee also shared testimony from Trump’s former campaign adviser Jason Miller and Jared Kushner, the former White House senior adviser who is married to Ivanka Trump.  

What to expect moving forward: Here’s what Cheney said the panel’s subsequent hearings will focus on:  

• During the panel’s second hearing, which is Monday, the panel will argue that Trump knew his claims of widespread voter fraud were baseless.  
  
• In the third hearing, the committee will make the case that Trump planned to replace Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen so that the Justice Department would spread his election fraud claims.  
  
• The fourth hearing will focus on Trump’s efforts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 
  
• The fifth hearing will focus on Trump’s efforts to pressure state legislators into challenging election results. 
  
• The final two hearings will focus on how Trump “summoned a violent mob and directed them, illegally, to march on the U.S. Capitol,” Cheney said.  

Upcoming witnesses: Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will testify before the committee alongside his deputy Richard Donoghue and Steven Engle, then the head of the Office of Legal Counsel.  

The committee previewed that Justice Department officials would be front and center in its Wednesday review of Trump’s attempt to topple his own leadership and install a mid-level attorney who would forward his claims of election fraud. 

In addition, former Fox News editor Christ Stirewalt said on NewsNation’s “Morning in America” that he will testify next week. Stirewalt was part of the Fox New team that made the decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night. He was later ousted from the network following the 2020 election.  

Last month, Stirewalt was hired by NewsNation, which is owned by The Hill’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group. 

Check out The Hill’s coverage of last night’s hearing 

• Five takeaways on the Jan. 6 panel’s public case against Trump 
  
• The five most dramatic moments from the Jan. 6 hearing 
  
• Trump says Ivanka was ‘checked out’ following Jan. 6 public hearing 

Austin warns Chinese counterpart on Taiwan  

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned his Chinese counterpart during their first face-to-face meeting on Friday that Beijing must “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan.”

Austin met with Gen. Wei Fenghe, China’s minister of national defense, on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, according to a statement from the Pentagon. 

What Austin said: Austin reiterated that the “U.S. remains committed to our longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances,” the department said. 

“The Secretary reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Strait, opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, and called on the PRC to refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” it added. 

Tensions over Taiwan: Tensions grown between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, and Washington’s fears have only increased amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

• During his first trip to Asia as president in May, President Biden stoked tensions when we said that the U.S. would be willing to defend Taiwan if China tried to invade
  
• Two days later, China conducted a military drill near Taiwan

What else was said: In addition to Taiwan, Wei and Austin discussed “global and regional security issues,” including North Korea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said. 

The Pentagon chief “discussed the need to responsibly manage competition and maintain open lines of communication,” the Pentagon said. 

“The Secretary underscored the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue on improving crisis communications and reducing strategic risk,” it added. 

Something to watch for: Austin is scheduled to speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue tonight at 8:30 p.m. E.T. His speech will focus on “Next Steps for the United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy.”  

Read the story here.

Military reports first monkeypox case 

The Pentagon on Friday confirmed its first known case of monkeypox in the U.S. military.  

An active-duty service member based in Germany recently tested positive for the virus, a spokesperson for the Defense Department confirmed to The Hill.   

• NBC News, which first reported the case, was told that the unidentified individual was seen and treated at the Stuttgart Army Health Clinic
  
• The individual is now in isolation in their on-base quarters

Risk remains ‘very low:’ Navy Capt. William Speaks, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, told NBC that public health officials have found that the risk to the overall population is “very low,” as the case is part of the West African strain, a generally mild version with limited human-to-human transmission.  

He added that contact tracing is being done for clinic staff who saw the patient “as a precautionary measure.” 

About monkeypox:

• As of this week, monkeypox has been found in 15 states and Washington, D.C., just weeks after it was first detected in the U.S
  
• The total number of cases has so far been less than 50, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   

The CDC has stressed that the virus — spread through prolonged skin-to-skin contact or through contaminated fabric like clothing or bed sheets — is not a high risk to the public.   

Belonging to the family of viruses that includes smallpox, monkeypox lasts from two to four weeks, and an infected person can see painful rashes and lesions. The person is no longer contagious once the lesions heal.   

Read the story here. 

ON TAP MONDAY

• The Atlantic Council will host an event entitled “Pressure points: Where the war in Ukraine is being decided” at 10 a.m. 
• The House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold a hearingat 10 a.m. 
• The Brookings Institution will hold a discussion on “Allies: How America failed its partners in Afghanistan” at 10:30 a.m. 
• The Belfer Center will hold a seminar on “Future Directions in the Study of Nuclear Disarmament” at 11 a.m. 
• The Wilson Center will host a discussion on “The Marshall Plan at 75: Lessons for Ukraine?” at 2 p.m. 
• The Senate Armed Services subcommittee on Strategic Forces will hold a closed markup of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act at 5:30 p.m.  

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Biden: Jan. 6 hearings important so ‘American people understand what truly happened’ 
• All four crew survive Navy helicopter crash in California 
• Senate panel approves Finland, Sweden’s bid to join NATO 

That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you Monday!

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