Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the administration of former US President Donald Trump, is leaving after testifying during a public hearing of the House of Representatives selection committee. the attack on the Capitol on January 6, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 28, 2022.
Kevin Lamarck Reuters
In scathing testimony to a House House committee investigating the Capitol Hill attacks, a former aide to then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, portrayed Trump as an enraged commander in the weeks surrounding the uprising.
Furious Trump has thrown himself at his own Secret Service agent, tossed plates and refused to help his vice president as crowds of angry rebels chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson told lawmakers in more than two hours of testimony. on Tuesday, recalling what she heard and saw in the days and weeks surrounding the events of January 6, 2021.
Trump went to his Truth Social social media page to distance himself from the former assistant and said he hardly knew her.
Here are some key findings from the hearing.
Trump attacks Secret Service agent
Hutchinson said she was told the former president had attacked a secret service agent after his bodyguard refused to take Trump to the US Capitol while his supporters rioted in congressional halls.
Hutchison recalled a conversation she had with then-White House employee Tony Ornato. He explained that after Trump told his supporters that he would join them in their march to the Capitol, he insisted that the Secret Service bring him there.
When Trump got into the presidential limousine, Ornato said Trump was under the impression from Meadows that they were probably still going to the Capitol, Hutchinson said.
When Secret Service Special Agent Bobby Engel said they weren’t because it wasn’t certain, Trump “had a very strong, very angry response to that,” Hutchinson said, Ornato said.
“Tony described him as angry,” Hutchinson said. Trump said something like, “I’m the incumbent president, take me to the Capitol now.”
Engel again refused, at which point Trump “reached for the front of the car to grab the steering wheel. Mr. Engel took his hand and said, “Sir, you must take your hand off the wheel. We are going back to the West Wing, “Hutchinson said.
“Trump then used his free hand to throw himself at Bobby Engel,” Hutchinson said she was told. She added that when Ornato told her the story, he pointed to his collarbones.
Trump was fine with the guns at the rally
Hutchinson also said Trump had told his aides that he did not care if his supporters brought weapons to the Jan. 6 rally, which continued the attack on the Capitol.
Trump then said, “I don’t care if they have guns, they’re not here to hurt me, get rid of the fraudulent magazines.” Let my men in, they can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Get the effing mags away, ”Hutchinson testified.
She said Trump was fine with removing the magnetometers because the president was convinced he was not personally in danger.
“They are not here to hurt me. Remove the full magazines. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here,” Hutchison said in a pre-recorded testimony.
Trump told Pence’s staff he deserved to be hanged
Hutchinson told the commission that Trump had told his team that he thought then-Vice President Mike Pence deserved to be hanged. Trump supporters have repeatedly chanted “hang Mike Pence” after the former vice president helped verify the election results.
“I remember Pat Chipolone saying, ‘They’re literally calling for the vice president to be hanged,’ Hutchinson told the committee in an interview, describing how the former White House adviser approached Meadows about the riot.
“You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong, “Hutchinson said, describing Meadows’ response to Cipollone.
Trump throws lunch at the wall
A few weeks before the attacks, in December 2020, Trump threw his lunch and dishes on the wall when he learned that former Attorney General William Barr and the Department of Justice had found no evidence of widespread election fraud.
After his loss to President Joe Biden, Trump began claiming without evidence that the 2020 election was “stolen” by him due to widespread voter fraud. His own chief prosecutor later found that there was no evidence to support this claim.
When the news came that the Department of Justice had found no evidence to support his allegations of election fraud, “I remember hearing a noise coming down the hall,” Hutchinson said.
“I left the office and went down to the dining room and noticed that the door was propped open and the valet was inside the dining room, changing the tablecloth from the dining room table,” she testified.
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