US networks clear prime-time slots for Capitol attack hearing

• Broadcast TV channels are bumping hit series like “Law & Order” to telecast a congressional hearing.
• Up to two hours of prime time will be devoted to the hearing. The hearing is expected to begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.
• Professor Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia, predicts the hearing will uncover “illicit and maybe criminal activities”.

WASHINGTON: For US television networks, prime time is hallowed ground, as it is where they pull the most viewers and advertising dollars.

With one notable exception, broadcast TV channels are bumping hit series like “Law & Order” on Thursday evening to telecast a congressional committee hearing about the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

The main networks, including ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as CNN, will devote up to two hours of prime time to live coverage of the committee hearing.

The hearing will be broadcast on the Fox Business channel, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch and broadcasts the typical schedule of programmes on Fox News.

The hearing on the supporters of former President Donald Trump’s assault on Congress on January 6 is expected to begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time — 5:00 p.m. on the West Coast and 0000 GMT.

Former ABC News president James Goldston is said to have been engaged by the committee to create the prime-time special, which is intended at a national audience.

The United States has a long tradition of dramatic televised congressional hearings, dating back to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist “Red Scare” crusade in the 1950s.

The Watergate hearings in the 1970s, the Iran-Contra hearings in the 1980s, President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in the 1990s, and, most recently, Trump’s two Senate trials.

Those broadcast activities, however, were mostly staged during the day and not at night.

“During Watergate, PBS replayed the afternoon hearings,” according to Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “However, there were a number of offices where people were keeping an eye on things.”Sabato believes that holding the hearing on January 6 during prime time is a “smart approach.”

“The challenge will be recruiting folks who don’t have a strong interest and persuading them to change their beliefs,” he said. “Are they able to uncover illicit and maybe criminal activities?”

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‘People must keep an eye on things.’

Representative Liz Cheney, one of the committee’s two Republicans, asked Americans to watch.

“People must observe and understand how easily our democratic system may unravel if we don’t preserve it,” said Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.

The House of Representatives committee, which consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, is anticipated to lay out exactly what transpired on January 6 and who they believe were the ringleaders.

Visual evidence will be presented at the hearing, including text messages, images, and videos, some of which have never been seen before in public.

Caroline Edwards, a US Capitol police officer who was hurt by the rioters, and videographer Nick Quested, who captured the opening moments of violence, will provide live evidence.

The committee is looking to figure out if Trump or his associates are guilty of any wrongdoing.

It plans to release its assessment in September, just before the midterm congressional elections in November.

More than 800 people have been jailed for their roles in the Trump supporters’ January 6 assault on Congress, which aimed to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory from being certified.

Following a furious address by Trump to hundreds of his fans outside the White House, the assault on the Capitol left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured.

After the Capitol riot, the House impeached Trump for the second time in history – he was charged with inciting an insurgency — but the Senate acquitted him.

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