January 6 panel: shining a light on American democracy’s nose dive

The gripping hearings have laid out a remarkably complex plot of a simple story: a president's attempt to blindly retain power

After eight gripping hearings, the panel investigating the January 6 attack has completed its first phase of laying out one of the most consequential stories of the modern era: how America's democracy came to the brink of collapse in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

It was a story that at times seemed remarkably complex, involving the vice-president, justice department, advisers inside and outside government, state and federal elected officials, election workers, fringe legal theories and violent extremist groups. But at it's core it was a very simple story: a president who was determined to stay in power and use whatever power he could to do so.