WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The House of Representatives committee investigating deadly January 6 U.S. Capitol riots plans to host “multiple weeks’ of public hearings next Year, according to Liz Cheney (Republican Representative).

This signalled a new stage in the House select committee’s investigation into the attack on Capitol Hill by supporters of ex-President Donald Trump. To date, they have only held three sessions public.

One was a hearing https://www.reuters.com/world/us/police-who-defended-us-capitol-testify-riot-probes-first-hearing-2021-07-27 at which police officers described being beaten, taunted with racial insults and threatened during the attack, and the two others were business meetings to vote on contempt of Congress resolutions against Trump adviser Steven Bannon https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-edges-toward-contempt-charges-against-trump-aide-bannon-2021-10-21 and former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-committee-seeks-contempt-charge-trump-era-justice-dept-official-2021-12-02.

“We’re making fast progress. Next year we anticipate that multiple weeks will pass before public hearings are held. This allows us to show the American people vividly in color what occurred on January 6, here at Capitol, at White House and the causes of this violent attack,” Cheney stated at Thursday’s House Rules Committee hearing.

Clark had been scheduled to be voted upon by the select committee. However, the vote was delayed after Clark invoked the Fifth Amendment of the U.S Constitution to protect him from self-incrimination on Wednesday. On Saturday, he agreed to present the panel.

Chair of the committee Bennie Thompson, Democrat, stated that the vast majority of witnesses cooperate with the panel. He also said that 250 people had given testimony behind closed doors.