ABC News political director says upcoming Jan. 6 hearing is ‘opening argument’

During an interview with East Texas Now host Devyn Shea, Rick Klein, the political director for ABC News discussed tonight's Jan. 6 hearing, the Summit of the A
Published: Jun. 9, 2022 at 3:33 PM CDT|Updated: Jun. 9, 2022 at 3:39 PM CDT

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - During an interview with East Texas Now host Devyn Shea, Rick Klein, the political director for ABC News discussed tonight’s Jan. 6 hearing, the Summit of the Americas, a pending gun control bill, and heightening tensions on the world stage.

To start things off, Shea asked Klein about his take on the Jan. 6 hearing that is scheduled for tonight and what people can expect from the series of hearings.

“This is sort of an opening argument in a long-running investigation that has been going on almost a year,” Klein said. “Thousands of depositions and pages of testimony. A lot of data has been analyzed. New video as well.”

Klein said people are expecting to see new footage that was shot at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. He added that the American people will also hear more from Capitol police.

“I think it’s an attempt by this committee to start to tie together some of the disparate pieces of a very complex and, oftentimes, very confusing investigation,” Klein said.

Shea then asked Klein for his thoughts on the ongoing Summit of the Americas, which is entering its second day.

“We’ve seen, I think, some frustration around some non-participation by some member countries in an effort to bring the hemisphere together about issues about immigration. A lot of frustrations about that,” Klein said. “We know that the president didn’t get everything he wanted out of this West Coast trip.”

Klein said that Biden’s goal is to show some American leadership and resolve and work with fellow partners in the hemisphere.

From there, the conversation transitioned to a pending vote about a proposed “red flag” gun control bill by the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The real action is not going to be in the House of Representatives, where the Democrats are in firmer control than they are in the Senate,” Klein said. “We all know that the negotiations in the Senate are what’s going to matter. It could be that red flag laws will be a part of that and maybe some change to the background check system.”

Klein explained that the House’s pending vote is more about political positioning and posturing even though there are likely some good proposals in the bill.

“I think people recognize the political dynamics at play,” Klein said.

Then Shea and Klein talked about the heightening tensions on the world stage that were caused by Russia and China’s decision to veto United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

To watch the full interview, click the video above.

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