Former ABC News president helping Jan. 6 committee with production of primetime hearing

The January 6 House Select Committee has been quietly working with a major former ABC News executive to produce upcoming hearings, including an upcoming primetime multimedia presentation that has been likened to a high-quality investigative documentary special, Fox News has confirmed. 

James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, has agreed to join the committee as a soon-to-be announced adviser and is producing Thursday’s special as a blockbuster event. The broadcast will be filled with never-before-seen surveillance footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, over 1,000 interviews and depositions with witnesses, and a variety of other explosive documents and tips. Fox is also told that the actual witness list for the hearing will arrive in the coming days.

The production will be the first in a series that is being described as a national event meant to engage the American people and journalists tuned out of the probe into the Capitol riot, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building during certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. 

At least two of the broadcast networks will allow interruptions in their primetime programming for live coverage of the hearing, which will be hosted by ABC's David Muir and CBS' Norah O’Donnell. Republicans are expected to counter the coverage with already booked major cable interviews. 

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Fox News is told Goldston will have a hand in all the hearings this month, but he will be particularly involved in the efforts by the committee to make its primetime hearing Thursday and another one later this month "TV friendly."

Goldston is considered a veteran documentary producer who has previously run "Good Morning America," "Nightline," and "20/20."

The Jan. 6 committee has been criticized as a partisan exercise, as exemplified by the presence of Russiagate proponent Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and reported calls by members to recommend abolishing the Electoral College.

On CBS News' Sunday broadcast of "Face the Nation," Schiff became frustrated with the Department of Justice for announcing that they would not be prosecuting two former Trump officials for contempt after refusing to cooperate with the committee. 

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"It is very puzzling, why these two witnesses would be treated differently than the two that the Justice Department is prosecuting. There is no absolute immunity. These witnesses have very relevant testimony to offer in terms of what went into the violence of January 6, the propagation of the big lie, and the idea that witnesses could simply fail to show up and when the statute requires the Justice Department to present those cases to the grand jury, and they don't, is deeply troubling," Schiff said.

The California representative also called the DOJ’s decision "a grave disappointment," and claimed it could impede the progress of their investigation. 

With Thursday’s hearing looming, politicians serving on the committee have reportedly been in disagreement on what reforms they want to pursue in order to prevent another similar event.

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According to Axios, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has repeatedly argued that the Electoral College must be abolished in order to protect future elections. But, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has expressed a fundamental disagreement with Raskin, arguing the committee will lose credibility if it attempts to push reforms that could be viewed as extreme.

Some members have also pushed for "federal legislation to oppose voter suppression tactics," reforms to the Electoral Count Act and increasing the criminal repercussions and lowering the standards for dereliction of duty.

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