♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymsjaonfio namvia l yoncu talivead yo. life well planned. rr: in wasoviby frn da. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.

and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. washington. this ibcs ld w"bs n ewamerica." the committee investigating january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol gives us a summary of what it has discovered. lawmakers are expected to unveil previously unseen footage of the day. supporters of -- of the days supporters of donaldrump'sng. i have been speaking to the widow of one of the policemen attack who took his own life. >> j door and told me that he was no

longer with us. laura: two british men captured by russian forces receive the death sentence for fighting for ukraine. a bbc investigation shows ivory is still for sale on the internet, despite claims that it is not plus in england, new oprglat essau'swelcome to worldn pbs and around the globe. a congressional committee investigating the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol, also first of a series of public hearings tight. reprsiomisnting pr tr uump stormed the seat of american democracy. . today, president biden called the attack a violatief on onns victory.

committee aides say e evidence will show that mr. trump was at the center of that effort. top republicans say the committee's work is ill it -- is illegitimate. our correspondent now reports. reporter: it was an tonishing attack on democracy. the capital stormed by supporters of a defeated president,rying to overturn the 2020 election results. th investigation i whit hpene isnt theo dw an most sweeping ever conducted by congress. much is already known, because these graphic scenes played out on television screens in real time. >> we fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anyme. reporter: president trump's fighting words that day echoedar orhend w what happened here was shocking. it was dramatic. and it was a year and a half ago. its eic iams a hhaopanin og tovb their attention with a blockbuster event with the video and testimony and new details arguing the threat to democracy

still remains. the committee is determined to shape the narrative of that to multi-was day. s'itsef' wcu mr. trump: we were ready to win this election, frankly, did win the selection. reporter:rooirehefumhed ntto pne election and took steps to stop the steel, to the day when congress gatd ertoreedti c did he want his supporters to go this far? and where the militias who marched through the capital part onir cy respreaceddictro f thans have been charged. the big question is whether the president will also be prosecuted. eommieey hahe per toecomnd legal action. >> i think the committee believes that he has committed crimes. a judge has ruled that he likely committed felony conspiracy to do what he did. whether the justice department takes that view, that is when to be a much longer story. t rolabym'to srys ils ao

aides and loyalists republican lawmakers. the committee has examined their private communications. ey rejected subpoenas to testify, and after initial criticism, the party has rallied around trump. john breahan was inside the capitol building the day of the riot. >> to see a crowd of americans openly attacking the u.s. capitol police was just stunning. reporter: he has reported on the investigation since. but in this toxic partisan atmosphere, what can be achieved? >> it is important for congress to do this. whether or haitno hngas co puest down a marker. . reporter: political stakes are lose theirtsldemocra ou congressional majority in midterm elections. they will be trying to persuade voters to hold republicans accountable for the attack. laura: attending tonight's hearing will be erin smith, the

widow of police officer jeff smith. he is one of four officers who died suicide in the days after they dended the capitol. one of off to -- of officer smith leged attackers was in court today. i have been speaking to aaron about her husband and her fight to get jeff's suicide recognized as a death in the line of duty. >> jeff was fny. he was always joking around. just a happy person, liked to have fun, and a good person to be around. laura: how important was his job to him? >> it was very important. obviously, there were dayst t we good da overall, he enjoyed a police officer, and it w his calling to be one. laura: erin smith's late husband was a d.c. police officer who responded to the attack on the u.s. capitol on january 6. in the lead up to january 6, did you talk with jeff about the fact that thousands of people

were descending on the capitol to protest joe biden's election certification? >> let's have trial by combat! >> that either of us expected it did. -- neier of us expected it to turn into what it did. laura: this is the violent chaos jeff went through. this footage comes from the bodycam he was wearing. the lawyer had to fight to obtain it. jeff was brutally assaulted. his head once wounded -- his ad was wounded. >> i knew he was in there and he was in building wheit wh,as whs even more stressful to think about. he was told to go and that is what he did. laura: when you dto jf ab gout , what did he tell you? >> jeff said january 6 was the worst day of his life. laura: and how did jf's mood change in the days after the immediately withdrew

hifmsitua fon, frthomrom everything in the house. he just kept to himself, became quiet. laura: was he worried about go tbainrko ck?wo back, he was still in a lot of pain. but they told him to come back, oed, y e orre wh a youre on january 15, nineas after he was attacked defending the capitol, jeff smith died by suicide on his way to work. >> police officer showed up at my door, and told me that he was no longer with us. laura: in the aftermath of jeff's death, erin said she did not get the support she needed from the police department or the city of washington, d.c. >> jeff died by suici, which is frowned upon and not accepted within police departments. and they basically wanted nothing to do with what happened.

laura: that must have been very hurtful. >> it was. there is a stigma around, and they just don't want to accept that the job can take a toll on your mental health. laura: but, after a year-long fight, the police term and board jle'df'ef in the line of duty. it is a hugely important ruling for erin and potentially others in her position. >> it is a turning of a page, if you will, for suicides to be recognized as line of duty and not brushed under the rug. laura: january 6 committee is holding public hearings this month of june. what do you think those hearings could achieve? i hope the hearings bring to light that for those that can't accept what happened, that it did happen. and i hopeamericans that on thae

could have lost our democracy. we could have lost everything that this country has worked towards. laura: that w erin smith, the widow of police officer jeff smith. for more on tonight's hearing, we are joined by anthony's irca federal prosecutor. is a for welcome,me genrtlemen. anthony, the committee is saying it will present the american people with an initial summary of its findings. what do you think they are really going to tell us that we don't know? anthony: i think that is the big challenge for this committee. we have seen documentaries produced on the january 6 attacks. we had donald trump's second impeachment trial that presented video and evidence of the attacks. in donald trump's connections. they need to find a new angle. one of the things they will look for tonight is the role that militant groups liktal capithet

udand possibly guidance that the crowd book -- the proud boys and others took from donald trump who were challenging, and something to undermine the election. i also think in the weeks ahead, they are going to look at donald trump's actions and inactions on january 6, during this window of time when the white house records are not clear about what donald trump did. made phone calls, but wew don't know what else. they are going to try to get testimony, documentary evidence to show donald trump'shapped on. it will be a challenge to present new information, rather an terested i tn hihengarsin again. laura: joe, anthony is talking about this focus tonight on these far-right groups. the proud boys, the oath keepers, some of them have already been charged with something called seditious conspiracy. what a youoi tngo i mean, it ise

with you, i wish it was under better circumstances as far as tonight, i view this as the opening statement of a complex trial. an hour and a half sounds like a lot of time, but the reality is to aunt of information that the committee has amassed over the year and a half,ven at 90 minutes as the arst, pt c bpswi,ere ll iat chs question of shining a spotlight on them. if you ask most -- most americans, they have heard of the prouoyyld abaydy' realize the extent that they were involved, and what exactly they were doing on and around january 6. i think it is a very important opportunity to shine a spotlight to say, these are not just amst f exercising theenent rito. these are groups that were actively involved in violent activities, that could have put our decracy in ril on thay.

datra: re sing the work of this committee is does that undermine thesesham. hearings? anthony: i think it does present another challenge to the peopleg they have their people they picked to serve on this committee. nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, said they could not serve on thesh comemitt peeicked her o republicans, liz cheney and ada kinzinger to serve on it. that will be a challenge they have to deal if you look at the questions that republicans are raising, they are saying not only is the investigation a sham,crs aonshoo voters, the economy, immigration, inflation, and that that is the priority. they know when american voters head to the polls in november, they may not be thinking about what happened more than a year

ago. they may be thinking about what is happeningla iein r bocket more than 800 people have more high profile executions? joe: yes. it's possible. this could be the first step in unearthing the facts. of course, nothing directly can come from this committee with respect to criminal prosecution. the point is,he g atofhe justice, and then the department has to make the determination of whether there is criminality, and whether that can be pursued. possibility, but it will be a while before we get to that point. laura: 70% of o whametns happened on january 6. is it possible the committee's hearings could play a role in eoctera miolermnnsct i majority is at stake? anthony: that is something that

democrats have ind. heoroms ssibly in september, a few months before the midterm elections. it is hard to wrap your head around it, but this is the first major election since that attack. yes, it happened over a year ago. but this is the first chance for voters to hold the people, the parties, accountable for what happened. i k crwo lik voters to keep that in mind as they are heading to the polls. 70% may think this is worth more investigation. there are 30% like a football coach yesterday said, what happened on capitol hill was just a dustup. it was nothing significant. they may need to try to change soetme of those mind ss as well. and that will be harder for them. laura: anthony's irca and joe marino, thank you for joining us. let's go to eastern ukraine where two british men who are fighting alongside ukrainian soldiers have been sentenced to death by a russian court.

aiden aslin and shaun pinner were found guilty alongside a third man in morocco after being capturur our correspondent reports. reporter: for fighting as soldiers in ukraine's military, after a shortrial in runss ald shaun pinner have been told they face the tough -- the death penalty. >> if you are watching this, it means we have surrendered. reporter: this was aiden aslin's last message to family and friends bere he was captured. we have >> -- reporter: he spent weeks mariupol before his unit chasi itgive tofhemselves up. >> to lay down our arms and head towards the russian soldiers. reporter: later, his family watched as footage of him emerged looking bruised and in handcuffs on pro-russian media outlets.

being interrogated about his actions. footage of prisoners of r being paraded on television is viewed as a breh of the gatheren soldiers captured during the fightingbut it is pretty clear, as britishan -men in this conflict, their treatment has been different. e court footage shows them only answering that they were happy for the trial to proceed without witnesses. but it is unclear what duress they may have been under. >> what has happened today is one of the most extraordinary things i have seen in recent years. british citizens being in a show trial, and then condemned to death for no reason whatsoever. mbassador and the russian government need to known will thnot geiat awayru withss this. reporter: since the russianthinl legion, and other groups helping to defend the country. but aiden aslin and shaun pinner were different.

they had been fighting in ukraine's military for a number of years. aiden aslin passed out as a marine after moving to ukraine in 20 and was engaged to be married to a ukrainian. russian channels have called the men foreign mercenaries, and reportg that t sad ighey ll face a as called it a sham judgment with no legitimacy. their families are hoping it may be possible to negotiate a prisoner exchange. for now, for their involvement in ukraine's conflict, they hav become part of russia's propaganda war. laura: president biden is to meet brazils leader, gyre bolsonaro, at the summit of america in los angeles. the two men do not see iti, which along with -- do not ci to t see eye to eye.

ask bolsonaro to intensify the search for u.k. journalist john phillips and an a digit -- and an indigenous official. there is a u.k. ban on the sale of ivory that comes into force this week. es ititinvy onganebb b sellec rl offering ivory for sale, i leaving the word ivory off the listing. ebay, which says it has been working to tackle the illicit trade, banned ivory sales more than a decade ago. an analysis by ivory trade expertsobjects have been sold oe site made of elephant tasks. here is our correspondent. reporter: you can sell almost anything on ebay. the online marketplace had 1.5 billion listings in 2021 from lder.lls thovere tare some things you ae

not allowed to sell. one is ivory. >> this is awful. seeing something like this for sale. this is a classic piece of ivory. reporter: ebay banned the sale of ivory in 2009. these researchers have carried out an online forensic test. >> et to see from elephant ivory. reporter:ay there are features visible listed in items that make it clr they are made of ivory. >> those characteristic lin you only see on ivory. reporter: sellers are listing those items but under a different term. >> bovine bone is the big one. it is the major one. it is the one we found was used most when we did our three-month investbaioigckn and it is still the biggest pseudonym being used now. reporter: there's only e way to confirm an item is made of ivory, and that is to have it tested. as part of our investigation which started in 2018 when vion echers first contacted us,a

ou bthis oxford lab and needs ay sample for a tissue fingerprinting thnique.sion. >> what were the results? >> we tested three of the ctadisves s edrtnebo a vibone. of the three, this little figure was most likely bovine bone. two of the objects, we were interested to discover, this bracelsveeaetnd these were elephant ivory. >> these are definitely elephant ivory. >> yes. reporter: ebay is notlonen being an online marketplace where people might try to sell wildlife products. the company said it habe d rkpr toawochto me eag nt sellere forced to use code words for listings rarelyigatn found hundf sales of ivory that were completed. >> wildlife charities and lawen

foemharc decades to stem the flow of illegal ivory and protect africa's threatened elephant populations.al b on the sale of ivory has come into force. under previous law, it was legal to sell antique ivory. >> all of the progress we havead byof t internet. enabl exs ithe ivory trade say companies that profit from these transactions should invest more of their profits in enforcing nr thes row.ul laura: in other news, the driver of a car which had a school gmakillg jup rigr 1in4 students, is thought to have had mental health issues, according to berlin's interior affairs minist.er e scene of the crash. king philippe of belgium has condemned the racism of his

country's colonial rule in africa. he made the comments on a weeklong trip to the democratic republic of the congo. key rick -- he returned a tribal mask,f o tnehousds ofthailand he cultivation of marijuana, moving from some of the world's's's strictest laws to some of the hea ca bmo ib fstor l mediercinal aland therapeutic purposes. recreational use does remain illegal. inofna c,hi shanghai after fourw coronavirus infections were reported wednesday. 2 million residents have now forced to stay homee for two -days u- ntil everyone is test. the remains of europe's biggest predatorurnoy ves saha experts say the bones show it was an immense creature, more than 30 feet long, a duncanhased y ke giant killer.

as high as a house, and as long as a bus, this is a colossus from the cretaceous era. >> this is one of the significant pieces. reporter: it's remains are now at the island'swherexperts say a fearsome creature. >> you would not want to go near it. they have large teeth and a lot of them. and a long skull. these things have big fishing hooks on their thumbnails. reporter: it is years old, twice thell age12 omo t-rex. the bones were found on the west side of the island. 's coastline rich in dino discoveries -- the coastline rich in dino discoveries. >> we have these ancient soils. reporter: but never one quite like this. >> it is a tremendous find. >> it is something that was totally unexpected. just some bones falling out of the cliff. with these fragments, we have been able to piece together the

biggest meat eating terrestrial dinosaur in europe. reporter: experts from the dier me remains, totsmouth andst complete the story of a creature that roamed and ruled its ancient domain. duncan kennedy, bbc news, on the isle of wight. laura: not as big as the ones in to e quintetly, britain's future king out on the streofet london, helping to sell magazines that benefit the city's try with some people walking by and not noticing him. although of course, it was not long before the air to the throne was spotted, s cover was busted, and yes, he was taking selfies with many of the passersby. you can find much more in all of the day's news at our website and see what we are working on at any time, check us out on twitter. i am at laura trevelyan, and i

would love to hear from you. thank you so much for watching "bbc world news america." narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial seices firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from ♪ ♪ wch g pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪

t,i' 'h'm dyvening.neur" ni hearings begin. congress divulges the results of its year-long investigation into the january 6 capitol enheiminofhettk.insuonecti. we examine the sequence of events during the assault the pi and a fractured summit. president biden leads a meeting of nations from the western hemisphere. but the absence of several key leaders raises questions of whether the gathering can effectively address critical issues. all th m"pndbs newonshour."