Trump’s secret service code name is “mogul” — “I’m the f’ing president, take me up to the Capitol now”. Trump had criminal intent, period. Witness tampering and obstruction of justice warned in Cheney’s closing statement.
The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection held a surprise hearing Tuesday that featured a key witness: Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former president Donald Trump’s last chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson is not a household name, but she’s become central to the committee investigation — sitting for a series of taped interviews and being the only live witness at the Tuesday hearing. In live testimony, Hutchinson provided an intimate, detailed and shocking look inside the West Wing and at the president specifically on the day of the attack.
Here are some of her most stunning revelations about Trump:
1. Trump knew his supporters had weapons — and encouraged them to march on the Capitol. And he tried to go, too.
Hutchinson testified that Trump was informed that his supporters were in D.C. armed to the teeth. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, she said Meadows and Trump were informed that Trump’s supporters came to his “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse armed with weapons — pepper spray, knives, brass knuckles, stun guns, body armor, gas masks, batons and blunt weapons, the committee detailed. The committee also played police calls reporting people with AR-15s.
Hutchinson said Tony Ornato, the deputy chief of staff who served as a liaison for Secret Service, told Meadows on the morning of Jan. 6 “something to the effect of ‘And these f---ing people are fastening spears on top of flagpoles.'”
Trump was mad that Secret Service wasn’t letting these armed supporters through security, said Hutchinson, who was in a tent with the president before his rally speech.
“I was in the vicinity of a conversation where I overheard the president say something to the effect of, ‘You know, I don’t even care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me,'” Hutchinson said.
Trump then got onstage and repeatedly told his supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol.”
2. Trump wrestled with Secret Security agent to go to the Capitol
After the speech, Trump got back in his heavily fortified limousine and literally tried to wrestle the steering wheel away from the head of his Secret Service detail to go to the Capitol, according to Hutchinson, who said she was repeating what she heard from Ornato. (Secret Service decided it was too dangerous.)
Here’s how Hutchinson relayed what she heard from Ornato about the moment:
“The president said something to the effect of ‘I’m the f-ing president. Take me up to the Capitol now,’ to which [Robert Engel, the head of the Secret Service detail] responded, ‘Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.’ The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, ‘Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We’re not going the Capitol.’ Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel,” Hutchinson testified, and said Ornato motioned to his clavicles to describe a kind of choking-motion.
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