By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Leaders of the U.S. congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol said the panel had postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, citing the threat to the state of Florida by a major hurricane.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Democratic chairperson, Bennie Thompson, and Republican vice chairperson, Liz Cheney, did not announce a new date for the House of Representatives Select Committee's hearing.
"In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s proceedings. We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path. The Select Committee’s investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings," Thompson and Cheney said in a statement.
Some 2.5 million residents of Florida were under evacuation orders or warnings on Tuesday due to the approach of Hurricane Ian, which was expected to make landfall in the state about the same time as the hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
Thompson had said he expected the hearing would be the last from the Democratic-led panel. It held eight in June and July, presenting findings of its more than year-long probe of events surrounding the deadly assault on the seat of the government by supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump.
In its earlier hearings - including one held in July 2021 - the panel made its case that, after losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump ignored allies who told him his claims of widespread election fraud were untrue and then sat back and watched as followers who believed his false accusations stormed the Capitol.
Trump has denied wrongdoing.
The panel has not said when it will release a final report on its probe, although the document is expected to be made public before the Nov. 8 mid-term elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs.