Trump Cancels Jan 6 Press Conference, To Speak At Arizona Rally

Former President Donald Trump Tuesday called off his upcoming press conference. It was to be held on Jan 6, which is the first anniversary of the Capitol riot. He will later speak at his upcoming Arizona rally.

In a statement issued by Trump, he said that in light of the "total bias and dishonesty" of the committee investigating the attack and the "Fake News Media," he is canceling the press conference. It was to be held Thursday at Mar-a-Lago.

He shared that instead he will discuss "many of those important topics" at his upcoming rally, which will take place on Jan. 15 in Arizona. Going by his statement, he is expecting "a big crowd" at the rally.

He further said that the "LameStream Media will not report the facts that Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Sergeant-at-Arms denied requests for the D.C. National Guard or Military to be present at the Capitol." He called House Speaker Pelosi "crazy," and Democratic Representative Adam Schiff "shifty."

He also accused Democrats on the Jan 6 House Select Committee of a "coverup." According to Fox News, the committee consists of two Republicans and seven Democrats. So far, the panel has collected more than 35,000 pages of documents and interviewed hundreds of witnesses' testimonies. More than 50 subpoenas were announced by the panel, but many of them were defied.

Prior to the cancellation of the press conference, some Republicans in Congress expressed concern over it. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia had said that it wasn't a "good idea." But some Republicans like Representative Jim Banks of Indiana encouraged Trump to go ahead with the Jan 6 conference. Banks said that Trump "has important things to say."

According to The Hill, the press conference might have carried some political risk for the former President, who is said to be considering running for the White House two years later.

CBS News reported that Trump's press conference would have come the same day President Joe Biden will deliver a speech to mark the anniversary of the riot. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden will address "the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it has posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance."

Meanwhile, the committee is set to unveil an interim report on its findings by the summer of 2023.