Six notable moments from House Jan. 6 hearing featuring ex-Trump aide Hutchinson
Kate Scanlon
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The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot held a hearing Tuesday with Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who described events at the White House leading up to the attack.
SIX NOTABLE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE MOMENTS ABOUT TRUMP PRESSURE ON JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday afternoon’s event was a surprise when announced on Monday, as the committee had previously indicated it would not hold another public hearing until next month. But Hutchinson’s testimony included several bombshells, and former President Donald Trump sought to dismiss her in a post on his social media website.
Hutchinson made a number of revelatory remarks about the events leading up to the riot, and described herself as “disgusted” particularly by Trump’s refusal to condemn threats against Vice President Mike Pence, which she described as “unpatriotic” and “un-American.”
“We were watching the Capitol Building gets defaced over a lie,” Hutchinson said.
Here are five other notable moments from the hearing.
Trump grabbed the steering wheel when told he wasn’t going to the Capitol
Hutchinson testified that top Trump aides and witnesses in the presidential car known as “the beast” on Jan. 6 told her that when Trump was informed that he would not be taken to the Capitol because violence had already broken out and it was not secure, Trump became irate and lunged at the steering wheel of the vehicle and the throat of a Secret Service official.
Upon being told he was not going to the Capitol, Hutchinson quoted Trump as saying, “I’m the f….ng president. Take me up to the Capitol now.”
When informed he was being taken back to the West Wing, Hutchinson testified that Trump “reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel.”
Robert Engel, who led Trump’s security detail at the time, “grabbed his arm and said sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We’re not going to the Capitol,” Hutchinson said.
“Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said Trump blamed Meadows for not permitting him to go and saw the remnants of a meeting between the two men in the dining room where Trump had apparently thrown dishes at the wall in anger.
Hutchinson testified that it was not the first time Trump threw dishes in rage.
Meadows, Guliani sought pardons
The committee at its last hearing named several Republican lawmakers it said it had evidence sought pardons from Trump for their roles in the efforts to overturn the election. Hutchinson said Meadows likewise sought a pardon.
“Mr. Meadows did seek that pardon,” she said.
Hutchinson also said former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Guiliani also sought a pardon.
Meadows: ‘Things might get real, real bad’ on Jan. 6
Hutchinson testified that Meadows, who is currently engaged in litigation so as to not testify before the committee and has been held in contempt of Congress for his refusal to testify, seemed to know ahead of time that there was a potential for violence on Jan. 6.
She testified that after she shared with Meadows a conversation with Guliani that left her “scared” about what might happen days later on Jan. 6, he replied, “Things could get real, real bad,” that day.
‘Take the mags away’
Hutchinson testified that Trump was “furious” that Secret Service magnetometers prevented some members of the crowd with weapons from joining the rally on the Ellipse prior to the riot, arguing he wanted the magnometers taken away so the crowd would appear larger on television, regardless of the weapons the crowd would bring in.
“I don’t f—ing care that they have weapons,” Hutchinson testified Trump said. “They’re not here to hurt me. Take the fucking mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the fucking mags away.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the panel’s vice chairwoman, “The president apparently wanted all attendees inside the official rallies space and repeatedly said quote, ‘they’re not here to hurt me.’”
“That’s a fair assessment,” Hutchinson said.
Trump sought to distance himself from Hutchinson in a post on his social media website Truth Social, dismissing her as a “phony” and a leaker. But his former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney wrote on Twitter, “I know her. I don’t think she is lying.”
‘He thinks Mike deserves it’
Hutchinson testified that during a discussion among aides of rioters chanting “hang Mike Pence,” Meadows told White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, “You heard it, Pat, he thinks Mike deserves it, he doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong.”
“This is f—ing crazy,” Cipollone replied, per Hutchinson’s testimony.
Trump World name-checked
A number of Trump allies were named in Hutchinson’s testimony, including Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise, for whom she previously worked on Capitol Hill. She also mentioned Max Miller, a former Trump aide who will likely be elected to the House from Ohio in November.
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Hutchinso
n said McCarthy called her on Jan. 6 and accused her of lying when Trump said he planned to go to the Capitol, telling her not to allow him to do so. She said aides had no plans to take him there, saying she later learned she did not hear him say he would go while she was backstage at his rally.
