Key Takeaways from Sixth January 6th Committee Public Hearing
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Knowing rioters were armed, Trump encouraged them to march to the Capitol.
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Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Chief of Staff Meadows testifies that the Trump team knew supporters would march on the Capitol with weapons.
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Hutchinson also testified that Trump refused to condemn the January 6th attack.
The House Select Committee on January 6th held its sixth public hearing on Tuesday, June 28th. The hearing revolved around testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
The Committee sought details on Trump’s behavior and attitude in the days leading up to, during, and after the January 6th attack.
Top Moments
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Hutchinson testified that despite knowing protesters were armed, Trump wanted security precautions lifted in order to increase the size of his Stop the Steal rally.
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“They’re not here to hurt me, ” Trump argued.
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During his speech, Trump encouraged the protestors-turned-rioters to go to the capitol, promising he would be there with them.
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Trump physically attacked the head of his Secret Service detail, Robert Engel, when he would not drive him to the Capitol on January 6th. The President grabbed the wheel of his armored car from Engel, and “Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel.”
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White House counsel Pat Cipollone voiced concerns repeatedly about Trump’s plan to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as potentially illegal.
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​“Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol, Cassidy,” Hutchinson quoted Cipollone as telling her the morning of Jan. 6. “Keep in touch with me. We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.”
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Members of Trump’s cabinet considered invoking the 25th Amendment, which would have made VP Pence President, after Trump’s actions on January 6th. Instead, many of them chose to resign that day.
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Despite calls from the White House legal team, close advisors, and his own daughter, Trump would not condemn the rioters and even considered offering them all pardons.
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Former colleagues have been contacting witnesses prior to their testimony, pressuring them to be “team player[s]” and remain in “good graces in Trump world.”
Text messages from undisclosed individuals attempting to influence witnesses before their depositions with the January 6th Committee.