The January 6 committee hearings that have fascinated Washington for the past few weeks reached a feverish pitch Tuesday, with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson detailing a series of fresh accusations against former President Donald Trump.
The White House will be open on September 30, 2020. Drew Angerer poses for a picture.
In testimony to lawmakers, Hutchinson recalled a conversation with a former White House deputy chief of staff who said that Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent when he was told he couldn't.
The altercation happened just after Trump finished a speech on the Ellipse near the White House, where he demanded metal detectors be removed so his armed supporters could approach him, which did not concern Trump because he felt the crowd was not there to hurt him.
Hutchinson testified that former White House counsel Pat Cipollone told her to do everything in her power to make sure Trump didn't make it to the Capitol, with Cipollone warning "we're going to get charged with every crime imaginable" if Trump made it there.
She said her boss, former White House chief of staff MarkMeadows, warned the day could turn "real bad" and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe worried things would spiral out of control.
On January 2, Hutchinson brought up concerns about comments Rudy Giuliani made about going to the Capitol after the election was certified.
He was aware of the crowd of Trump supporters in D.C. on January 6 but didn't pay much attention to it.
At one point during the riot, Cipollone demanded the White House "do something more" in response to rioters chanting "hang Mike Pence!" according to Hutchinson. He thinks they're doing nothing wrong.
The Associated Press published a December 2020 story in which former Attorney General Bill Barr stated there was no evidence to support Trump's election fraud claims.
According to the committee, the former Secretary of State sent a message to the congressman telling him that members of the president's cabinet were considering using the 25th amendment to remove him from office. According to Hutchinson, Giuliani and Meadows both asked about pardons after the storming of the Capitol.
Liz Cheney, the House January 6 committee's vice chairwoman, ended Tuesday's hearing by showing anonymous witness statements that suggested Trump's team might be trying to tampering with testimony.
Take me to the Capitol now! According to Hutchinson's testimony, Trump lunged his hand at Engel.
In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump labeled Hutchinson a "Whacko" and a "total liar". Trump claimed that he didn't want people with guns to watch his speech and that the story of the limo altercation was fake. He said that he did not support the January 6 rioters.
Tuesday's hearing was the sixth from the committee this month, but it deviated from the norm by relying on Hutchinson's testimony. The actions of rioters on January 6 were covered in previous hearings. The announcement of the hearing was sudden and only about 24 hours' notice was given. Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, said the hearing was called because of new information the committee received in the last few days.
The next hearings won't happen until July.
Ex-Aide Says Trump Grabbed Limo Steering Wheel, Lunged At Security Chief, and Raged At Not Being Taken to Capitol.
An aide says that Trump wanted to let armed rioters enter his rally.
An aide says January 6 could be real bad days before a riot.
Six Republicans are said to have asked Trump for pardons.
It was approved by the president to hang Mike Pence. Staffers were reportedly told to chant during the Capitol Riot.
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