Former Trump campaign manager 'no longer appearing' at Jan. 6 Committee hearing due to 'family emergency'

Bill Stepien, a longtime Republican political campaign operative who was brought in to manage Donald Trump’s flailing 2020 presidential campaign was slated to testify live before the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack but he now will not appear, reportedly due to a “family emergency.”

“Due to a family emergency, Mr. William Stepien is unable to testify before the Select Committee this morning. His counsel will appear and make a statement on the record,” the Committee says in a statement, according to CBS News’ Scott MacFarlane.

The focus of Monday morning’s hearing, which will now begin 30-45 minutes later than its scheduled 10:00 AM ET time, is to establish that Donald Trump knew he lost the election but pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, to try to overturn the election, which some legal experts say could be evidence of an attempted conspiracy against the United States.

UPDATE: 9:42 AM ET –
MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire reports Stepien’s family emergency is his wife is in labor.