Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top White House aide, on Tuesday described for the Jan. 6 Special Committee a “furious” Donald Trump who threw dishes against the wall, ordered that rallygoers with weapons be allowed into his speech and physically tussled with his own security who refused to drive him to the Capitol building as the riot was getting underway.
All the while, Trump remained indifferent to the ugly scene playing out on the hill, and didn’t think rioters were doing anything wrong – even after hearing the now-infamous chants of “Hang Mike Pence.”
Hutchinson suggested that White House officials were aware there was a brewing threat of rioting and violence, saying she was “scared” about the “planning elements” leading up to Jan. 6 – including that top Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani telling her offhandedly that things could get “very bad” at the Capitol days before the riots.
“I was scared … and I had deeper concern for what was happening with the planning aspects of it,” Hutchinson said. It was Jan. 2, she said, when Giuliani told her that things were “happening” and could get ugly at the Capitol building a few short days later.
Hutchinson’s testimony painted a picture of a White House in chaos as Trump went off-script all day, causing staff to scramble – then raged at them as events unfolded. Trump seemed indifferent, she said, to the violence, trespassing and that “Hang Mike Pence” refrain – “He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong,” she remembered hearing.
The committee had previously announced that it would be in recess until July, but “new information” prompted a change in plans, officials said. Hutchinson – who witnessed everything from Trump’s reactions to the Capitol riot to GOP lawmakers sniffing around for pardons after the fact – met with committee investigators multiple times to describe what she saw on Jan. 6.
Meadows has refused to cooperate with investigators for the House committee, which has held Trump’s former chief of staff in contempt.
‘I Don’t Care That They Have Weapons’
Hutchinson said Trump was furious that his Jan. 6 rally venue on the ellipse wasn’t entirely full, and wanted all attendees in the vicinity inside the rally space. When told that several of the people weren’t being let through because they had weapons, Trump responded: “They’re not here to hurt me.”
“I don’t care that they have weapons … let the people in,” Cassidy quoted Trump as saying. “Take the effing (security points) away … then they can march to the Capitol.”
She later described the mad scramble that happened when Trump told the crowd multiple times that he was planning to “join” them in the march to the Capitol. But that had never been the plan, she said – and Trump was instantly “irate” when he found out his motorcade was heading back to the West Wing.
Hutchinson, who wasn’t riding in the vehicle but spoke with two people who were, said Trump yelled: “I’m the effing president, take me to the Capitol now!” She said she was told how Trump got so upset that he reached through to the front of his limousine to grab the steering wheel – then “lunged” at the head of his security detail who tried to stop him, striking him “around the clavicle.”
Sometime later, once Trump was back at the White House, she said she saw “ketchup dripping down the wall, and a shattered plate,” which apparently Trump had thrown because he was so upset upon learning about Attorney General Bill Barr’s interview with the Associated Press. In it, Barr told the AP he saw no evidence of widespread fraud.
“Was this the only instance where the President threw dishes?” co-chair Liz Cheney asked.
“It’s not,” Hutchinson said. “There were several times during my tenure when he would throw dishes, or flip a tablecloth.”
Who Is Cassidy Hutchinson?
The senior aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was connected to nearly everyone inside Trump’s inner circle, and was “inseparable” from her boss, whether it was in the Oval Office or on many trips on Air Force One, according to a close colleague.
“Wherever Mark Meadows was, Cassidy was there. They were inseparable,” Olivia Troye, former White House Homeland Security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said on CNN leading up to the testimony.
“She’s got the facts. She’s a firsthand witness to these facts. This is someone who is incredibly credible, because she did her job loyally and unwaveringly,” Troye said, adding that testifying is a sacrifice for Hutchinson’s career and her safety.
“There should be some concerns about her safety. She is going to face some serious vitriol,” Troye said. “She is losing her entire political circle and world to do this … for her country.”
Trump Responds: ‘Total Phony and a Leaker’
Though Hutchinson describes being in Trump’s presence dozens of times, the former President on Tuesday pretended he didn’t know who she was – before assailing her character and motivations.
“I hardly know who this person … is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and a “leaker”),” he said on his own Truth Social platform. He said she was only upset because he turned down her request to join the team in Florida after their term was over.
Previous Hearings:
Day 5 on June 23 included testimony showing that Trump pressured on his own attorney general’s office to overturn the 2020 election – an effort one dissenting Justice Department official called a “murder-suicide pact.” The committee was expected to hear from a documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, who chronicled the final six weeks of the Donald Trump presidency, but Holder’s appearance was delayed. Read about Day 5 highlights here.
Day 4 on June 21 included Republican state officials from around the country telling the committee how Trump tried to pressure them to overturn election results, including sending supporters to officials’ homes, waving weapons and shouting insults and threats of violence here.
Day 3 kicked off June 16 with testimony focusing on the intense pressure President Trump put on Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. John Charles Eastman, an attorney and campaign advisor to Donald Trump and his election team, emerged as a key architect of the plan. Read about Day 3 highlights here.
Day 2 testimony on June 13 included new allegations of Trump campaign-donor fraud, former Attorney General Bill Barr saying Trump’s claims of a stolen election were “complete nonsense,” and tales of a drunken Rudy Giuliani offering election night advice, giving rise to “Team Rudy” and “Team Normal.” Read about Day 2 highlights here.
Day 1 on June 7 showed how Trump “summoned a violent mob” to pressure lawmakers to overturn the election results. The day included testimony from documentary maker Nick Quested, who filmed the Proud Boys storming the Capitol. Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards testified about how she tried to fight off violent protestors on Jan. 6. Read Day 1 highlights here.