Congressman Ken Buck testifies at trial aimed at keeping Trump off the Colorado ballot
Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, told a Denver judge the Jan. 6 Committee did not have a full picture when it investigated whether former president Donald Trump incited the attack on the Capitol.
Buck testified as part of a lawsuit by six Colorado voters to Trump's name off the primary ballot.
They say the 14th Amendment prevents anyone who incites an insurrection, after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution, from running for office. The Jan. 6 Committee released a report finding the former president did incite an insurrection on Jan. 6.
Buck, a former prosecutor, insists the committee was stacked against Trump and was seeking political gain, not the truth.
He says the committee didn't cross examine witnesses, challenge evidence, or subpoena documents that didn't support Trump's culpability, or that might exonerate him.
"And it is important to have the, I believe, the full picture in the situation like the Jan. 6 investigation," he said.
Petitioners' attorneys pushed back, noting the committee had subpoenaed more than 1,000 witnesses and posted all of the evidence it considered on a public website.
"What they didn't post were the questions that weren't asked. And they didn't post the documents that weren't subpoenaed and they didn't post the interviews that didn't occur," he said.
Trump's attorneys also brought as witnesses people who attended the rally, including Amy Kremer, who planned it and obtained a permit for it.
"These are patriotic, freedom loving citizens. I mean, these are happy people," she said.
One of Trump's attorney's ask her is she thought Trump told people to storm the capitol during his speech at the rally.
"Absolutely not," she replied.
Kremer says the former president used the term "fight" metaphorically.
An attorney for petitioners argued that videos showing people attacking police tell another story.
"Were the individuals you saw there attacking the Capitol and chanting 'Hang Mike Pence' patriotic freedom-loving citizens and happy lawyers?"
The trial has been mostly civil but turned heated briefly Thursday.
Trump's attorneys accused petitioners' attorneys of turning the trial into a circus by asking Buck why he believed republicans were lying about the election being stolen and downplaying what happened Jan. 6.
The trial will wrap Friday with more testimony from Buck and an expert on the 14th Amendment. Closing arguments are set for Nov. 15.
The judge will then have 48 hours to rule. Regardless of her decision, the case is all but certain to be appealed to the State Supreme Court.
A similar trial is underway in Minnesota.
