Hutchinson cooperated extensively with the investigation, after sitting for four in camera. It revealed how then-President Donald Trump and his inner circle were warned of the potential for violence on Jan. 6, and how Trump wanted to join the crowd of his supporters. at the United States Capitol.
Witnesses have bolstered the narrative the committee has been leading toward in recent weeks: That Trump incited and supported the insurgency as part of a desperate seizure of power to steal a second term, and that many of the best his advisers thought his schemes were illegal. .
Here are some of Hutchinson’s keynote accounts.
Trump and his chief of staff were warned about violence — including armed attendees of rally
Hutchinson really pushed the ball forward in terms that established that Trump was personally aware of the potential for violence, but went ahead on Jan. 6 with his attempts to encourage his supporters to interfere with the joint session of Congress to certify the victory of President Joe Biden.
She said Trump told them at the time that weapons were being confiscated from some of his supporters who came for his rally. On the same subject : Wounded in Vietnam, John Eade, 79, became a leader in politics, government and architecture. Later, when Trump and his team were in the Ellipse – the large oval lawn on the south side of the White House – and before his speech, Trump barked orders to his employees to “take the mags away “- in reference to the metal detectors – because people in the crowd,” not here to hurt me. “
Trump also said, “I don’t f ** king care who has the weapons,” according to Hutchinson. This is particularly shocking, because Trump then urged the same crowd to march to the Capitol while lawmakers were claiming Biden’s victory. (Hundreds of tough Trump supporters quickly entered the Capitol, many carrying knives, bear spray, metal poles, tasers and a few guns.)
When Hutchinson told her boss, Meadows, about early reports of confiscated weapons, Meadows didn’t even look up from his phone, according to Hutchinson. Two days earlier, he told her that “things can become real, real, bad on January 6th.”
“The potential for violence was learned or was known before the violence began, early enough for President Trump to take steps to prevent it,” said Republican Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming, GOP vice president of the panel. She added that Trump could have urged his supporters not to march on the Capitol, or condemned the violence more quickly, but did not do so, because “he had something else in mind.”
Trump intended to go the Capitol and pushed to do so until the last minute
The select committee actually showed so much on Tuesday that it contained a mix of damning White House testimony and records showing that Trump intended to join his supporters at the Capitol and was pushing for do so just a few minutes before the violence began to escalate.
It was previously known that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol, but Hutchinson’s testimony established for the first time that people around Trump had prior knowledge of the plan. Read also : Liz Cheney, who is battling for political survival, is seeking cross-party support from Wyoming Democrats.
The reality of Trump’s intentions became clear to national security officials in real time as they learned that the Secret Service was struggling to find a way for the former president to travel to the Capitol during who was on stage urging his followers to walk, according to National Security. Council chat logs have since been unveiled for the first time during Tuesday’s sitting.
NSC chat logs provide a minute-by-minute account of how the situation has evolved from the perspective of the White House’s top national security official on 6 January and, along with eyewitness testimony. delivered on Tuesday, contradicting an account of meadows in his book where he says Trump never intended to march to the Capitol.
“The MOGUL is going to the Capital … now they are clearing a route,” a message sent to the chat log at 12:29 p.m. ET on January 6 reads – refers to the name of the secret service code of the former President.
“MilAide confirmed he wants to move,” a 12:32 p.m. message reads. “They’re asking him to reconsider.”
“So this is happening,” a message sent at 12:47 p.m. states.
Hutchinson also testified that some in Trump’s orbit had made it clear days before Jan. 6 that Trump wanted to travel to the U.S. Capitol.
She told the committee on Tuesday that Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani told her on Jan. 2 – four days before the U.S. Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters – that “it will we go to the Capitol ”on January 6, and that Trump himself was also planning to be there.
Aide recounts secondhand incident where Trump reached for steering wheel
Hutchinson testified Tuesday that he heard a secondhand account of how Trump was so angry at the detail of his Secret Service for blocking him from going to the Capitol on Jan. On the same subject : Politics wins business in the Social Truth war on Big Tech. 6 that he jumped in front of his presidential limo and tried to turn the rota.
She said Tony Ornato, then deputy chief of staff of the White House, said Robert Engel, who was the Secret Service agent in charge on Jan. 6, had repeatedly told Trump on their way back to the -White House after Trump’s Ellipse speech that wasn’t. Not safe to go to the Capitol.
According to Hutchinson, Ornato told Trump loudly, “I’m the President f ** king. Take me to the Capitol now.” Trump then “reached up to the front of the vehicle to catch the steering wheel,” Hutchinson recalled learning. She added that, according to Ornato, Trump used the “lunge” of his other hand in Engel.
Engel and Ornato both testified before the committee behind closed doors, but their statements were not used at Tuesday’s hearing.
Following the testimony, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Ornato denies telling Hutchinson that the former president picked up the wheel or an agent on his detail.
The Secret Service, through the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Legislative Affairs, notified the committee Tuesday afternoon that it will make the agents involved available to testify under oath, the official said. Agents are also willing to say under oath that the incident itself did not occur.
Lead agent Engel previously testified before the committee and described interactions with Trump on Jan. 6, including the former president’s desire to travel to the Capitol, but was not asked about an altercation or who was assaulted, the officer said.
Asked about the Secret Service challenging witnesses, a committee spokesman said, “The committee trusts the credibility of a witness who is willing to testify under oath and in public but is also willing to hear any information that they may have others to assist them in their investigation. “
Hutchinson also recounted a separate Trump tantrum after then-Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press in December 2020 that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
“I remember hearing sounds coming down the hall,” Hutchinson began. She saw the president’s valet in the dining room, changing the tablecloth, dripping ketchup against the wall, and a plate of crushed porcelain on the floor.
“The President was extremely angry at the attorney general’s interview … and he had thrown his lunch against the wall,” Hutchinson said. “I grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off the wall.”
The anecdote came as the committee asked Hutchinson about Trump’s state of mind after losing the election.
Cipollone warned: ‘People are going to die and the blood’s gonna be on your f**king hands’
According to Hutchinson, Trump defended the rebels from singing for the hanging of then-Vice President Mike Pence on January 6.
Hutchinson led a conversation he observed between White House Attorney Pat Cipollone and Meadows after discussing songs with Trump to provoke violence on Pence.
“I remember Pat saying something to the effect of‘ Mark, we need to do something more. They’re literally demanding that the vice president be f ** king hung, ”Hutchinson recalled.
Meadows replied, “You heard me, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong,” according to Hutchinson.
Cipollone replied, “This is f ** king crazy. We need to be doing something more.”
Hutchinson testified that Cipollone had previously rushed to Meadows’ office after riots broke into the Capitol and told Meadows what had happened, saying they needed to meet with Trump.
“Mark, you have to do something, or people will die and blood will be on your hands,” Cipollone told Meadows, according to Hutchinson. “This is getting out of control.”
‘There was a large concern’ in White House of the 25th Amendment being invoked after riot
Trump made a speech on January 7, 2021, finally acknowledging that Biden would be inaugurated in part because there was “great concern” from the White House that Pence and the Cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from the power, according to Cassidy’s. witnesses.
Hutchinson also testified that Trump did not want to include references in the speech to prosecute the riots in favor of Trump, but instead wanted to pardon them. After the White House Attorney’s office pushed back, Trump mentioned forgiveness in that speech.
Had the 25th Amendment been invoked, Trump could have put his presidency to a vote in Congress, where two-thirds would have been needed to oust him.
“There were major concerns about the 25th Amendment potentially being invoked, and there were concerns about what would happen in the Senate if it were,” Hutchinson testified.
The thinking at the time was that Trump needed the speech “as cover” to protect himself from the threat of his Cabinet trying to remove him from power, Hutchinson said. She said this was a “secondary reason” for Trump to deliver the speech; the first was that Trump needed to condemn the violent attack to try to prevent it from becoming his legacy.
While Trump effectively delivered the election-granting speech, he wanted to remove calls for “prosecuting riots or calling them violent” from the early drafts of his Jan. 7 speech, according to Hutchinson. , but wanted to give forgiveness to his supporters.
“He didn’t want to be there,” Hutchinson said. “He wanted to admit he wanted to potentially forgive them.”
“He didn’t think they were doing anything wrong,” Hutchinson said, referring to the pro-Trump riots. “The people who did something wrong then — or — the person who did something wrong then was Mike Pence, by not staying with him.”
Trump’s conduct on January 6 was ‘un-American’ and ‘unpatriotic,’ Hutchinson says
In emotional and powerful testimony, Hutchinson said Trump’s behavior on Jan. 6 was “non-patriotic” and “non-American.”
The committee asked Hutchinson to describe his reaction in real time since Jan. 6, when Trump attacked Pence in a tweet at 2:24 p.m. ET, which was after his supporters invaded the Capitol, forcing Pence, lawmakers, and employees to run for their lives.
“As an employee … I remember feeling frustrated, disappointed, and really, feeling personal. It was really sad,” Hutchinson said. “As an American, I was disgusted. I wasn’t patriotic. I wasn’t American. We’re seeing the Capitol building ruined because of a lie. And it was something that was really hard at that moment to digest … I still struggle to work through the emotions of that. “
Her condemnation of Trump’s behavior may shed some light on her motivations for filing so much harmful information about Jan. 6. Committee members praised Hutchinson and other Republicans who testified, calling them patriots.
Committee teases evidence of witness tampering
The committee obtained testimony from some key members of Trump’s inner circle, including members of his family. But Cheney suggested at the hearing that there could be a blockade of a kind imposed by Trump, and that the panel has evidence of tampering with witnesses.
She said one witness – whom the committee did not identify – testified that: “What they told me is, as long as I’m still a team player, they know I’m on the team, I’m doing it. protect who I need to protect, you know, I will continue to remain in good graces in the world of Trump. “
Another unidentified witness said someone in Trump’s orbit told them that Trump was “thinking of you” and that he “knew you were loyal” and hoped he would do the right thing when it came to your deposition. . “
Cheney said the committee takes this “seriously” and will be considering “next steps,” potentially hinting at a criminal referral, tampering or possible obstruction of witnesses. Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee’s chairman, issued a public request for more cooperation, telling potential witnesses that if “I discovered any courage I had hidden somewhere, our doors would remain open.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing on Jan. 6 and related investigations.
The new evidence from the committee is consistent with a years-long pattern of behavior by Trump, who has repeatedly used private and public channels to put pressure on people who could testify against him. This happened to his former lawyer Michael Cohen and his 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort during the Russia investigation, and to a U.S. ambassador during the 2019 impeachment hearings.
Trump also rebelled against people who provided harmful public testimony against him, including a senior White House national security official and his ambassador to the European Union, both of whom described his campaign against pressure. Ukraine during the impeachment hearings of the House in 2019.
This story was updated with additional developments on Tuesday.
CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
