On the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, the Trump administration launched an official White House website that rewrites the history of that violent day. The website characterizes convicted rioters as “peaceful patriotic protesters” and blames Democrats for what it calls “the real insurrection.”

The website’s debut at whitehouse.gov/j6/ comes as newly released testimony from former Special Counsel Jack Smith reveals the depth of evidence prosecutors had compiled against President Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The site claims Trump issued “sweeping blanket pardons and commutations for nearly 1,600 patriotic Americans prosecuted for their presence at the Capitol. In reality, those pardoned include more than 600 individuals convicted of or charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, including leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.​

The website accuses former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of “acknowledging responsibility for the catastrophic security failures” and claims she failed to deploy the National Guard despite “intelligence warnings and President Trump’s offers of troops.” 

“As Speaker of the House, Pelosi does not direct the National Guard,” the Associated Press confirmed in a fact-check. The decision to call National Guard troops falls to the Capitol Police Board, composed of the House Sergeant at Arms, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the Architect of the Capitol. Once the riot began, Pelosi and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell actively called for military assistance, including the National Guard.​

The claim that Trump signed an order to deploy 20,000 National Guard troops is false. While Trump mentioned during a January 5, 2021 phone call with Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller that “they” would need about 10,000 troops, no formal order was ever signed. The only documented action was Trump’s January 3 concurrence with activating the D.C. National Guard at the request of Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a routine approval of 340 troops.​

Approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the attack, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the following day after suffering strokes that medical examiners said were influenced by the events. Four officers who responded that day later died by suicide.​

Over 160 individuals have pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on January 6. Video evidence, court testimony, and officer accounts describe rioters smashing windows, fighting with police for hours, wielding bear spray, flagpoles, and other weapons. Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza testified that officers were “knocked to the ground and hit with various objects,” calling it “by far the worst of the worst” in her nearly 19-year career.​

The website’s claim that Capitol Police “escalated tensions” by firing “tear gas, flash bangs, and rubber munitions into crowds of peaceful protesters” inverts the sequence of events documented in thousands of hours of footage showing Trump supporters storming past barricades and breaking into the Capitol.

​While the White House promoted its revisionist narrative, congressional Republicans released the 255-page transcript and eight-hour video of Jack Smith’s December 17, 2025 closed-door deposition.

“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions,” Smith told the House Judiciary Committee in his opening statement. “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”​

Smith, who spent nearly 30 years as a prosecutor across Manhattan, Brooklyn, international war crimes tribunals, and the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, stated unequivocally that he believed he had sufficient evidence to secure convictions in both the election interference case and the classified documents case.​​

“If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith testified.

Perhaps the most chilling portions of Smith’s testimony addressed witness intimidation—both during his investigation and the threats he now faces.

“Witness intimidation is probably the most corrosive thing that can happen to the rule of law,” Smith told lawmakers. “I’ve worked on murder cases where witnesses were murdered. I’ve worked on cases overseas involving very serious witness intimidation.”​​

Smith defended his team’s requests for gag orders against Trump, stating the then-former president “was making statements that were endangering witnesses, intimidating witnesses, endangering members of my staff, endangering court staff.” Federal judges in both the District of Columbia district court and the Court of Appeals agreed, finding Trump’s actions were “causing witnesses to be intimidated and endangering people.”​

When asked directly if he would be surprised if President Trump directs the Department of Justice to indict him, Smith responded with a single word: “No.”

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan confirmed Friday that he will invite Smith to appear in an open hearing as soon as January.

Smith is expected to elaborate on his claim that Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to subvert the democratic process, using knowingly false claims about election fraud to undermine the lawful transfer of power. He told lawmakers that Trump continued making false assertions about deceased voters, underage voters, and illegal immigrants voting even after being informed they were untrue, targeting urban areas in closely contested states.

Smith also defended his office’s pursuit of phone records from Republican lawmakers contacted by Trump and his allies, explaining that toll records were subpoenaed to demonstrate how the White House attempted to pressure Congress to delay certification of the election results.

While a federal court order keeps the second volume of Smith’s report under seal, potentially limiting his ability to discuss certain details, he may address broader questions about the probe into Trump’s retention of sensitive materials after leaving office.

Smith is anticipated to rebut Republican allegations that his investigations were politically motivated. He maintained during his deposition that he never communicated with President Biden or White House staff about the probes and that the timing of Trump’s presidential announcement.