‘The dam has begun to break’: Jan. 6 panel lays out Trump’s 187 minutes of inaction

WASHINGTON — Then-President Donald Trump’s refusal for more than three hours to call off the mob attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6 constituted a dereliction of duty, the House committee investigating the insurrection said in its prime-time hearing Thursday.

“The mob was accomplishing President Trump’s purpose, so of course he didn’t intervene,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said. “President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home. He chose not to act.”

For nearly three hours, as a violent mob raged at the U.S. Capitol, Trump did not leave his private dining room at the White House, where he watched the events of the day play out on television and chose not to intervene.

He did not speak to National Security leaders, law enforcement, congressional leaders or Vice President Mike Pence. He had to be pressured by family and staff into sending tweets urging rioters not to harm police and to be