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Friday could be the final committee hearing into the January 6 Capitol riots for a while. Here's what we're expecting from it

Two former White House aides are expected to speak at this week's committee hearing. (Reuters: Elizabeth Franz)

The eighth hearing of the select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 has been locked in.

So far we've heard from elected officials, White House staffers, election workers, law enforcement officers and even people who participated in the riot.

This could be the last hearing for this stage of the investigation but, if any witnesses agree to testify at the last minute, that could change.

Here's what we're expecting from the next instalment:

When is the next hearing?

It's been confirmed for 8pm on Thursday, July 21, local time. That's 10am on Friday AEST.

It will be a return to prime time for US viewers in "an effort to maximise viewership and attention", according to CNN.

That hearing will be the second held in that time slot. The other was the very first session back in early June, which was viewed by around 20 million people.

A Capitol rioter testified during the last hearing that he was "hanging on every word" Donald Trump said. (Reuters: Leah Millis)

What will the session focus on?

We're expecting to hear more about what then-president Donald Trump was doing between the time rioters descended on the Capitol and his first public comments three hours later.

House committee member Adam Kinzinger has told Face The Nation on CBS that investigators had "filled in the blanks" on where Trump was.

"This is going to open people's eyes in a big way," he told the program.

Mr Kinzinger says Trump "didn't do anything" to protect the Capitol and the people in it and, instead, urged his Republican colleagues to "watch this with an open mind".

Congressman Adam Kinzinger says there's been a "rapid" acceleration of evidence being given to the committee. (AP: Jacquelyn Martin)

Who will we be hearing from?

It's understood two former White House aides will testify at the next hearing.

Citing a source who has asked to remain anonymous, the Associated Press has reported that former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and former press aide Sarah Matthews, who both quit immediately after the Capitol riots, are expected to appear before the committee on Friday.

The committee hasn't confirmed the testimony schedule for this week's hearing yet.

It's also unconfirmed whether we'll hear from anyone from the United States Secret Service, after a subpoena was issued last week for text message records from around the time of the riots that were reportedly erased.

The deadline for those documents was set for Tuesday, local time, so we may hear about the outcome before the hearing.

Who won't be there? 

Chairman Bennie Thompson has told the committee to proceed in his absence. (AP: J Scott Applewhite)

Committee chairman Bennie Thompson is one of the most-familiar faces of the investigation — but we won't see him on the panel at the next hearing.

The Mississippi Congressman has tested positive for COVID-19 and says he'll be isolating at home for the next few days.

It's not clear at this stage if the 74-year-old will participate in the hearing virtually, or sit out altogether.

Will this be the last hearing?

There's a good chance this will be the last hearing for now — however, the Jan 6 committee has had "surprise" public hearings before, so it can't be ruled out that there may be more to come.

There are plenty of key voices we haven't heard from directly as part of the committee hearings: two of the biggest being former president Donald Trump and former vice-president Mike Pence.

Mr Kinzinger says the possibility of Mr Trump testifying is a "big question" the committee is still dealing with, but it's not a must-have at this stage.

"Donald Trump has made it clear that he doesn't mind not telling the truth, let's just put that mildly," he said.

"The thing to keep in mind is this investigation is not winding down. We may be towards the end of this tranche of hearings, we may have more hearings in the future. The investigation is still ongoing."

Mr Kinzinger told Margaret Brennan in his CBS interview that, while he was keen to speak to Mike Pence, it's not decided whether that would require a subpoena or not.

"I think it would be important to hear everything he has to say," he said.

"That said, I'm not sure we'd get a tonne more out of him than what his staff has already told us."

ABC/Wires

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