The January 6 committee will hold its first televised public hearing in primetime on Thursday. Axios reports that the committee’s Democrats have brought on a previously unannounced adviser to turn the hearing into a primetime production. Think Watergate, but bigger.

Former president of ABC News, James Goldston, has been “quietly producing the hearing.” What sets this apart from Watergate is that the January 6 committee hearings will be in prime time so that the maximum number of viewers can be enticed to turn in. An industry pro like Goldston knows that he has to pull out all the stops to get eyes on the hearings. The biggest challenge is a lack of interest by the American public. Outside of the D.C. bubble, most regular Americans moved on long ago from the story of the protest on Capitol Hill that turned into a riot on January 6. Will Americans be interested in spending their evening down time watching a hyper-partisan congressional committee rake Trump and his supporters over the coals a year and a half after the riot happened?

Nancy Pelosi hand picked each member of the committee. There is no legitimate pretense that it is a bi-partisan committee so Republicans and conservatives will likely hesitate to tune in, knowing that it’s all about trashing them in order to keep the story in the press as the mid-terms approach. Democrats have no good news to rely on in the mid-term elections and they know a red tsunami is coming. This is their last shot at getting the attention of voters before Republicans take back the House and maybe the Senate, too. The problem with using a former network news executive, though, is that is looks so slimy. Swampy. This is how the game is played, though. Politicians and government officials leave the government sector and go to cushy jobs in network television. Look at Jen Psaki. She had a job lined up at MSNBC before she even finished her last day at the White House.

In this case, a normally boring, lopsided congressional hearing will be turned into a production. Goldston is tasked with turning the hearing – there will be several – into a “blockbuster investigative special”, according to Axios. The idea is to reignite interest in the actions of the day of January 6 and to encourage journalists to write about it. The committee promises live testimonies, and pre-recorded video testimony, as well as never-before-seen photographs.

James Goldston, who served as president of ABC News from 2014 until early 2021, has been working as an adviser to the House select committee and quietly producing the hearing. Goldston previously helmed “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”

The committee tapped Goldston to help convert a cache of documents, depositions, recorded footage and other materials related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot into compelling television for those who have not closely followed the proceedings.

The hearing — the first of several planned by the committee — will purportedly feature a mix of live in-person witnesses testifying about the events as well as pre-recorded content. Goldston is reportedly attempting to capture a “raw” feel that will hook journalists with fresh material to cover as well as members of the public watching at home.

The committee was never serious about it’s silly claim that it was out to save democracy by pinning the riot on Trump. It’s likely that Trump will run again in 2024 and Democrats are getting out ahead of any announcement he may make. Goldston, however, brings a unseemly element to the discussion. He’s the man at ABC News who spiked the story of Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking with minors. Paula Bolyard, editor of PJ Media, a sister publication, notes the connection.

He was accused in 2019 of quashing Amy Roboch’s interview with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with British Royal Prince Andrew in a sex-trafficking scheme set up by serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre was 17 at the time. You may recall that Robach, a reporter for Good Morning America, was recorded on video, released by Project Veritas, venting about the story being spiked.

Like I said, it’s all so slimy. Both ABC and CBS have already said they will break away from normal primetime programming and carry the hearing on Thursday night. NBC, at least so far, has not made that commitment. CNN and MSNBC will carry the hearing but Fox News Channel will not. FNC viewers will be able to see coverage as primetime show hosts do cutaways to the hearings. And, there will be some coverage on Fox Business Network.

Fox stated while its flagship station will not cover the hearing in full, live coverage will be “offered to FOX broadcast affiliates across any of their platforms.”

The hearing will also be carried without interruption on Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and Fox Nation.

The network added Fox News viewers who do wish to watch the hearing in full can tune in to Fox Business Network. Network hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will anchor special coverage for the hearing over on Fox Business Network.

Fox News Channel’s primetime shows have the highest ratings in cable television. I don’t know how Mr. Show Biz will make up for that deficit. He covered for a pedophile involved in human trafficking and now he’s covering for Pelosi who failed to appropriately work with Capitol security before the riot occurred, though there were warnings ahead of January 6 that something might happen. The committee has already met to produce suggestions on security on Capitol Hill and this hearing is all Hollywood. It’s sure not fun, lighthearted summer entertainment. Trump surrogates are ready with some counter-programming.

Trump and his inner circle will rely heavily on members of Congress — from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — to drive counterprogramming, sources familiar with their planning tell Axios.

Trump himself has not ruled out making some sort of an appearance, one of the sources says.

People close to Trump have been working closely with members of Congress, the RNC and outside groups like the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to collaborate on their offensive narrative.

Matt Schlapp, former Trump White House political director and chairman of CPAC, has been a leader in the effort, sources say.

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy slammed the choice of Goldston.

‘The Democrats have turned to the former ABC News exec, under whose leadership ABC spiked a story on Jeffrey Epstein, to choreograph their Jan 6 political theatre,’ McCarthy tweeted on Monday.

He also reupped an old post of his from November 2019 claiming that the then-President of ABC News was operating the network in a way that helped ‘bury the truth’ about sex offender Epstein, who died in jail in August of that year.

Are Americans interested in this kind of summer political theatre? We’ll know when the ratings come out.