The mystery surprise witness teased on Monday was revealed Tuesday when former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson took to the stand in the latest public hearing of the January 6 House committee. Hutchinson testified about the chaos of that day in history, revealing explosive details about the involvement of former President Donald Trump and those closest to him.
While she may not have been a household name prior to this week, there is no doubt that Hutchinson will be all over the news in the days to come. Hutchinson was working as an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the time surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. As an eyewitness to many of the events and discussions during this critical time period, Hutchinson was able to provide the committee with a significant amount of new information.
This is not the first time that Hutchinson has spoken with the committee members. She had previously been interviewed at least three times behind closed doors. Snippets of these interviews have already been aired during other hearings.
Although Hutchinson is in her mid-20s and in the beginning stages of her career, experts point out that she had close contact with many of the top administrators of the White House and in Congress.
Trump and His Administration Were Warned of the Impending Violence
Hutchinson was able to bring into clearer focus just how pointedly Trump and his team was warned of the impending violence at the Capitol. According to the sworn testimony, Trump was aware of the potential for violence at the Capital, however, he continued to move the ball forward with these supporters gathered at the Ellipse to hear him speak.
Hutchinson testified that Trump was informed earlier in the day that weapons were being confiscated from some of the attendees at the rally. She said that Trump asked his staffers to remove the metal detectors in order to speed up the process of his supporters arriving to watch him speak. Later in the afternoon, some of these rally attendees descended on the Capitol carrying knives, guns, and other weapons.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, GOP vice chair of the panel, worked to paint the picture that Trump was well aware of the potential of violence that day, doing nothing to stop it from happening. Cheney alleged that Trump had enough time to stop it but chose not to do so.
President Wanted to Go to the Capitol
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The committee used various White House records and witness testimony to prove that Trump had planned on joining his supporters when they marched to the Capitol. In fact, Hutchinson testified that the president was trying to join in the minutes just prior to the onset of violence.
While it had been previously revealed that Trump wanted to be at the Capitol to witness what was about to happen, today’s testimony showed that those staffers around Trump knew in advance that he wanted to be there. Hutchinson detailed how the White House counsel warned the president to not go to the Capitol.
Despite being told that it was a bad idea to go to the Capitol, Trump did not let go of this plan. Hutchinson told a story of how Trump became so angry at his Secret Service detail for derailing his attempts to travel to the Capitol that he lunged to the front seat of the presidential limo to try to turn the car around himself.
According to a secondhand account detailed by Hutchinson for the country on Tuesday, Trump tried to grab the steering wheel with one hand while using his other hand to lunge at Secret Service agent Robert Engel. Both Engel and Tony Ornato, then-White House deputy chief of staff, have given sworn testimony to the committee. However, the contents of this testimony have not yet been revealed.
Hutchinson also used her time on the stand to detail an incident that demonstrated Trump’s demeanor after losing the election. This particular incident happened in December of 2020 when then-Attorney General William Barr told the president that his department found no evidence of fraud during the election.
Hutchinson was near the dining room where this conversation happened, recalling how she heard noise coming from the area. When she approached the room, she saw ketchup dripping from a wall and a shattered plate on the floor. She was told by the valet attending the room that the president became angry at Barr’s report and had thrown his lunch against the wall.
Concern That 25th Amendment Would Be Invoked
After continuing to deny that President Joe Biden was the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election, Trump finally addressed the nation on January 7 about the issue. During this speech, Trump acknowledged that Biden would become president. According to Hutchinson, the president was convinced to make this acknowledgment out of fear that Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Cabinet were considering invoking the 25th Amendment to take him out of the Oval Office.
This speech came just one day after Trump had released a video during the riots, asking the rioters to go home peacefully yet telling them he loved them and that they were special.
Committee Warns of Witness Tampering
Cheney wrapped up the day’s hearings by issuing a warning of witness tampering. While she was careful not to identify any of the witnesses, Cheney revealed messages from these individuals dealing how they felt threatened for wanting to speak up. For example, one unidentified witness said that they were warned by a person close to Trump that the former president was “thinking about you” and imploring them to be loyal and do the right thing during the deposition.
Cheney reminded Americans that the committee is committed to the security of this testimony and will take witness tampering seriously. In closing, committee chairman Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi asked the public to cooperate, urging anyone with information to come forward.
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The committee is planning to break for the holiday weekend and not resume public hearings until the middle of July. The date of the next hearing has not been announced at this time.
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