The U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol announced in September that its next hearing would be held Sept. 28. Just a day before it was to take place, it was postponed because of Hurricane Ian’s impending arrival.
But a video shared on Facebook claimed the hearing “was abruptly canceled after it was revealed that news networks would not be showing it.”
The video was footage from a show called “TurleyTalks,” hosted by Steve Turley, a conservative author, internet talk show host and podcaster.
“With the hurricane in Florida, the scramble to avert a government shutdown by week’s end, and the midterms looming, news networks have appeared to have largely scrapped the hearings, recognizing that they’ve been nothing more than frankly a waste of time,” Turley said.
The video was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
But the committee hearing was postponed, not canceled, and not because networks lost interest.
In a Sept. 27 tweet, the committee said it decided to postpone the hearing because of the hurricane.
“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 tweet said. It also said the committee would announce a future date for the proceedings.
On the same day Turley’s clip was posted on Facebook, the Jan. 6 committee tweeted the hearing’s new date, Oct. 13. Committee members such as Jamie Raskin, D-Md., have said this hearing could be the last one. But, that’s not set in stone.
“The proceedings have been broadcast live on YouTube, the major TV networks, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN,” the Los Angeles Times reported in a story updated Oct. 6. “Fox News has offered live coverage of sessions held early in the day.”
It’s not true that the hearing “was abruptly canceled after it was revealed that news networks would not be showing it.” We rate the claim False.
This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. It is republished here with permission. See the sources for this fact check here and more of their fact checks here.
