In the primetime spotlight, the January 6 House of Representatives committee cast aside any doubts about its potency as it linked former president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election to the violent insurrection at the US Capitol.
Speaking from the Port of Los Angeles in California on Friday, President Joe Biden said the hearings demonstrate the battle for the nation's soul is not yet won.
"It's important the American people understand what truly happened. And to understand that the same forces that led January 6 remain at work today," Mr Biden said.
More than 19 million people across the US tuned in to Thursday night's hearing, The New York Times reported, citing preliminary data from Nielsen.
Fox News was the only major network not to air the event, instead rolling out its traditional late-night lineup of conservative anchors Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, who spent the evening discussing the perceived failures of the Biden administration, including skyrocketing gas prices, baby formula shortages and supply chain problems.
The Watergate hearings, which led to the impeachment and resignation of US president Richard Nixon, took place over 51 days and became must-see TV.
The House panel's primetime hearing, in which it linked Mr Trump's efforts to overturn the election to the insurrection, promised to reveal information that would be just as compelling.
Committee vice chairwoman Liz Cheney carefully laid out the panel's schedule but stopped short of saying who will give evidence.
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Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP -
A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP -
The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP -
Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP -
US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP -
Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP -
Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP -
Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP -
Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters -
Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP -
Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
She spoke of sworn testimonies and social media posts from white supremacist groups answering Mr Trump’s call to arms.
“There is no room for debate. Those who invaded our Capitol and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them,” said Ms Cheney.
“President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack.”
June 13
Monday's 10am hearing will focus on how, despite the fact that numerous aides and legal advisers told Mr Trump that the election was legitimate, he continued to engage in a "massive effort to spread false and fraudulent information”.
June 15
On Wednesday, viewers can expect evidence from a parade of senior officials from both the Department of Justice and the White House who confronted Mr Trump in the Oval Office, threatening to resign over the events surrounding the January 6 attack.
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First gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, US President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden salute the crowd after their electoral victory on November 7, 2020. Outgoing president Donald Trump has yet to concede his loss. AFP -
Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for former president Donald Trump, gives a press conference in the car park of the Four Seasons landscaping company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Joe Biden was declared as winner of the 2020 presidential election, which he claimed was false. As a result of these claims, Mr Giuliani can no longer practice law in the state of New York. EPA -
Donald Trump meets Clint Hickman, vice chairman of Arizona's 4th District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, at Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr Hickman said that he refused to take calls from the White House and Mr Trump, who he said was trying to overturn the battleground state's results. AP -
Four days before the Capitol riot, Donald Trump placed a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked the official to 'find' 11,780 votes to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the battleground state. The House committee investigators have already interviewed election officials in the state. AP -
Ruby Freeman was an employee of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 presidential election. After the state went to Joe Biden, Donald Trump accused Ms Freeman of stealing ballots in a call with Brad Raffensperger, who told Mr Trump that he was being misled by claims on social media. Reuters -
Kimberly Guilfoyle, engaged to Donald Trump's son, boasted to a Republican operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the January 6 Capitol riot. She may be called to testify. AFP -
Kash Patel, chief of staff to former acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller, gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee on December 9, 2021. Members of the committee and staff members had been meeting with Mr Patel and 'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander. Getty Images / AFP -
The Willard Hotel in Washington played home to a 'war room' set up by advisers of Donald Trump and has become the focus of the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack. AFP -
Former White House chief strategist in the Trump administration Steven Bannon leaves a federal courthouse in Washington after being indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. EPA -
Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidant of Donald Trump, gave a deposition before the committee in which he repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson was chosen by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol. Getty Images / AFP -
Bennie Thompson meets Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the select committee, Adam Kinzinger and Jamie Raskin on Capitol Hill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend contempt of Congress charges for former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark for defying his subpoena, refusing to answer questions and failing to hand over documents to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Liz Cheney, committee chairman Bennie Thompson and other members of the committee speak to reporters after meeting with Nancy Pelosi. Reuters -
Republican Scott Perry of Pennsylvania helped promote theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, resulting in millions of tax dollars spent on recounts in the state. Election workers there were also threatened with violence. Reuters -
Chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party Kelli Ward led the charge to pressure Maricopa County officials to invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election. Ms Ward also said that 'outside agitators' were responsible for the deadly attack. AP -
Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman, admitted to speaking with Donald Trump on January 6. Reuters -
Lawyer John Eastman spoke with Donald Trump's personal legal representative Rudy Giuliani at the January 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington. During the melee, Mr Eastman emailed Greg Jacobs, aid to vice president at the time Mike Pence, to say that it was Mr Pence's fault that the riot was taking place because he refused to block the election's certification results. Reuters -
Before Mike Pence could certify the Electoral College votes before Congress, the last step in the process before Joe Biden was to be sworn in, rioters breached the US Capitol. Outside the chamber doors, a person was shot and police officers were beaten and trampled as some rioters yelled: 'Hang Mike Pence!' EPA -
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he has no intention of complying with a subpoena to appear before the committee and missed a scheduled deposition. Committee members voted unanimously to pursue criminal contempt charges against Mr Meadows for refusing to give evidence. AFP -
In a legal setback, a federal appeals court ruled against Donald Trump, demanding he turn over White House records to the committee. AP -
Fox News host Sean Hannity sent text messages to the White House during the January 6 insurrection. AP -
The Oath Keepers is a US militia group that recruits former members of the military and law enforcement, with many participating in the January 6 attack. The committee has sent a subpoena to its founder, Stewart Rhoades, and several members have been arrested. AP -
The select committee subpoenaed Enrique Tarrio, naming him as leader of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that responded to Donald Trump’s call to descend on Washington and which played a central role in the attack on the Capitol. EPA -
US Olympic swimmer Klete Keller can be seen, with arms extended and wearing a blue kerchief covering his face, during the attack on the US Capitol. He pled guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and is co-operating with the committee. AFP -
House select committee member Liz Cheney told CNN that a witness said Donald Trump's daughter and former White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, pleaded with her father to put a stop to the violence that took place on January 6. Getty Images / AFP -
On January 9, 2021, Twitter banned Donald Trump after he tweeted his support for the rioters. Reuters -
'Stop the Steal' organiser Ali Alexander gave a deposition on Capitol Hill to the committee. Getty Images / AFP -
Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary under former US president Donald Trump, leaves the O'Neill House office building following a meeting with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Reuters
Mr Trump promised pardons for any staffers or members of Congress caught up in any January 6-related legal trouble. His son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, said in a video statement that pardons were the focus of his last days in the White House.
June 16
Thursday's hearing will focus on Mr Trump’s exertions to "pressure" former vice president Mike Pence to overturn the election.
“You will hear that President Trump was yelling and really angry at advisors who told him he needed to be doing something more and aware of the rioters chanting to hang Mike Pence,” said Ms Cheney.
“The president responded with this sentiment: ‘maybe our supporters have the right idea’… Mike Pence, ‘deserves it’”.
Following hearings
The dates for subsequent hearings have not yet been set, but will cover Mr Trump's efforts to “find votes” and his pressuring of state legislators and election officials into changing their election results, Ms Cheney said.
Who cares?
But despite the potentially history-making subject matter, it is unknown whether people will tune in to watch.
With many Republican leaders in addition to Mr Trump deriding the committee as "illegitimate" and a sham, it is almost a given that conservatives will ignore the proceedings.
"We [conservatives] don't care about [the hearings]," said Jon Ruthven, a Republican army veteran from Idaho.
"When BLM wants 'change', they burn down cities causing billions of dollars in damages. But when Trumpers do it, at least they go to the government's place of work," he said, referring to the Black Lives Matter movement.
At the same time, he expressed disdain for the rioters, saying they "should be put against a wall and shot for treason".
"Both sides are dumb."
Some people were just mad that Thursday's hearing bumped the CBS television show Young Sheldon, while others praise the hearings as an example of transparency in government.
VoteVets posted on Instagram: "Weird that Fox News wouldn't cover the #Jan6 hearing considering their viewers are the stars of the show."
