United States: a witness describes Donald Trump at bay during the attack on the Capitol
Cassidy Hutchinson, former assistant to Trump's White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testifies June 28, 2022 as former President Donald Trump reacted in his vehicle after being told he could not travel to the Capitol January 6, 2021. AP - Jacquelyn Martin
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
During a hearing announced the day before, the nine members of the special committee of the House of Representatives on the attack on the Capitol of the United States of January 6, 2021 received this Tuesday, June 29 the damning testimony of the former assistant of the chief of staff of the presidency.
According to her, ex-president Donald Trump tried to join the crowd at the Capitol by trying to drive a car himself.
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Cassidy Hutchinson, 25, described to the commission everything that Donald Trump and his inner circle knew about the events in preparation and that they would have done nothing to stop.
It is a devastating and damning testimony.
According to her, Donald Trump and his entourage knew that armed men were in the crowd to listen to his speech that day.
And behind the scenes, she heard the president say that these men meant him no harm and that the metal detectors should be taken down so that they could approach him and then walk on the Capitol, reports our correspondent at Washington,
Guillaume Naudin
.
Just like when Donald Trump did nothing as the assault began and the rioters wanted to go after his Vice President Mike Pence.
Assaulting a Secret Service Agent for Getting to the Capitol
He would then have tried to get behind the wheel of a car to join them, according to his testimony.
"
I'm the fucking president, get me to the Capitol right now
," he reportedly said, trying to grab the cop by the collar, according to comments reported to Cassidy Hutchinson by Tony Ornato, the president's deputy chief of staff.
“
Sir, you have to take your hand off the wheel, we are going back
” to the White House, the policeman would have replied.
“
Mr. Trump then waved his free hand at Bobby Engel
[the president’s chief security officer].
And when he told me the story
, [Tony]
Ornato told me he directed it to the collarbone area
,” Cassidy Hutchinson continued.
The young woman, who worked just steps from the Oval Office, also gave disturbing details about what the American executive knew of the violence that was preparing ahead of January 6, including a conversation she allegedly had with the chief of Donald Trump's cabinet, Mark Meadows, four days before the attack on the US Congress.
THE testimony of these hearings!
pic.twitter.com/tU9bwugyQ0
— Guillaume Naudin (@gnaudin) June 28, 2022
“
It could get really, really bad on January 6,
” he allegedly said.
“
That evening, I remember feeling fear and awe for the first time about what could happen on January 6
,
2021,” she said in testimony that could force Mark Meadows to come out of silence to deliver his version of the facts.
“
Your attempt to hide the truth from the American people will fail
”
The president of the commission of January 6, after having praised the courage of the young woman of 25 years, has also addressed those who have not cooperated since the beginning of the investigation, reports our correspondent in Washington,
Guillaume Naudin
:
“
I want to speak directly to the handful of witnesses who have been exceptions in our investigation, the few who have outright challenged us, those whose memories have failed over and over again on the most important details, and to those who are afraid of Donald Trump and those who assist him,
said Bennie Thomson
.
Thanks to the courage of this woman and others like her, your attempt to hide the truth from the American people will fail.
And to this group of witnesses who heard this testimony today: if you suddenly remember something that you did not remember previously, or if there are details that you would like to clarify, or if you find a little of courage that you had hidden somewhere, our door remains open.
»
Former President Donald Trump, who openly flirts with the idea of running for president in 2024, vehemently denounced all of these revelations.
"
It's twisted and wrong, just like all of the commission's work
," he lambasted in a series of posts on his Truth Social social network.
He has already warned that he would bury the work of this commission if he managed to take control of the House of Representatives during the mid-term legislative elections in November.
►
To read also: Assault on the Capitol in the United States: how Trump put pressure on Justice
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