And unlike in previous congressional inquiries into Mr Trump’s conduct, committee members will not have to contend with grandstanding, filibustering, showboating, or interruptions from Mr Trump’s allies in Congress. That’s because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has refused to allow the members he put forth to participate after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his picks – Representatives Jim Jordan and Jim Banks – on grounds that they might end up being called as witnesses…

Kurt Bardella, a former adviser to ex-GOP House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa, and who now advises the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told The Independent that Mr McCarthy’s decision to withdraw all his picks in a fit of pique was a “massive strategic error” that has left the former president without anyone to defend or run interference for him.

He also predicted the former president would “lose his mind” when he watches the select committee’s hearings and realises no one is there to interject with talking points representing his side of the argument.