Surprise! Jan 6 Hearing: Eyewitness to Trump’s Actions Before and During the Insurrection
She was there. She saw what happened. She told it all.
Issue #74 Government June 28, 2022
O.M.G. Last week, the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan 6 Attack on the Capitol said that there would be about a two-week break in the hearing schedule. Congress itself is on the July 4th break, and the Committee was still gathering evidence.
However, yesterday, Monday, June 27, 2022, the Committee announced, with a 24-hour notice, that there would be another hearing today with a witness who was not announced until late in the evening. Surprise!
The Witness
Cassidy Hutchinson was a top aide to Mark Meadows, the former Chief of Staff for Donald Trump. She was in every meeting, large and small, that Mark Meadows attended. She was an eyewitness to the actions of Mark Meadows and Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.
Hutchinson said that Meadows warned her on January 2, 2021, four days before the insurrection, that “thing might get realm real bad” on January 6.
We’ve previously seen clips of her various depositions (a total of 20 hours), but today, she testified for almost two hours about everything she knew, heard, and personally witnessed about the events leading up to January 6, and about the entire day of January 6 itself.
Her former boss, Mark Meadows, has not testified before the Committee, and in fact, requested a pardon before the Trump presidency was over. If you haven’t done anything wrong, why do you need a pardon?
A large part of the overall testimony by Ms. Hutchinson outlined how unhinged Donald Trump was, including incidents of throwing dishes on the floor of the White House Dining Room and even smearing ketchup on the walls.
Five Shocking Takeaways
Trump was determined to go to the Capitol himself, even when the Secret Service advised against it. Trump actually reached forward in the limousine and grabbed the steering wheel and physically attacked the Secret Service agent.
Trump lawyer Pat Cipollone warned Trump and his inner circle that going to the Capitol during the insurrection would create criminal liability for all involved.
Trump wanted a larger crowd around him during his speech at the rally even if it meant that armed people would be allowed in. Trump didn’t care if people were armed, because, as he said: “They’re not here to hurt me.” (Emphasis mine.)
Hutchinson testified about a conversation she personally heard between Trump and Cipollone disclosing that Trump agreed with the mob that was shouting “Hang Mike Pence” because he (Trump) thought Pence “…deserved it.”
Committee Co-Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) revealed that there had been efforts to intimidate several previous witnesses (live or via depositions) before they appeared before the Committee. Rep. Cheney reminded everyone that attempted interference with witnesses is itself a federal crime.
In case you missed it, here is the full video of the June 28, 2022 hearing from the website of the Committee.
