Former Aide: Trump Dismissed Threat of Violence on Jan. 6

Former Aide: Trump¹ Dismissed Threat of Violence on Jan. 6

A former White House assistant told a group of lawmakers that former U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed concerns that his supporters were armed on January 6, 2021.

She said that the former president also tried to take hold of the steering² wheel of the presidential limousine³ from his security in an attempt to direct the vehicle to the Capitol.

Cassidy Hutchinson was an assistant to Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. She swore to tell the truth Tuesday before a group of lawmakers investigating the violent attack at the Capitol on January 6.

Hutchinson said Trump directed workers to remove the metal-detecting magnetometers that could have slowed down his supporters that day.

She said that the former president said, "I don't...care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the...mags [magnetometers] away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here."

Hutchinson said she received an angry telephone call from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. She said he had just heard the president say he was coming to the Capitol. "Don't come up here," McCarthy told her, before hanging up.

Hutchinson told lawmakers that Trump tried to get control of the steering wheel from Secret Service agents who were refusing to drive him to the building. She told lawmakers that Trump said: "'I'm the...president. Take me up to the Capitol now.'"

Hutchinson said the information about what happened inside the presidential car came from two men. They were Anthony Ornato, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff at the time, and Robert Engel who was responsible for Trump's security that day. CNN reported that both Ornato and Engel have testified secretly to the committee.

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters attacked and occupied the Capitol building in Washington D.C. They reportedly aimed to stop members of Congress from counting electoral votes. The event was the final step in confirming Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Four protestors and one police officer died as the result of the attack. More than 100 police officers were injured.

The former president reacted to Hutchinson's testimony⁵ on his Truth Social website. Trump said, "I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than I heard very negative things about her..." Trump added that he personally rejected her request to join his group at Mar-a-Lago after the presidency⁶.

Sarah Matthews was an assistant press secretary for Trump at the White House. She wrote on Twitter, "Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinson's role or her access in the West Wing either doesn't understand how the Trump WH worked or is attempting to discredit⁷ her because they're scared of how damning this testimony is."

The days before the attack

In the days before the attack, Hutchinson said that she was "scared, and nervous for what could happen" after speaking with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Meadows and others.

Meadows told Hutchinson that "things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6," she said. Giuliani told her it was going to be "a great day" and "we're going to the Capitol." But Pat Cipollone, a White House lawyer, had serious legal concerns about Trump marching to the Capitol. Hutchinson told lawmakers that Cipollone told her: "We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable."

Hutchinson said she was also involved in talks about requests from several Republican lawmakers for presidential pardons before of the January 6 event.

She described Meadows as unconcerned as Ornato told him that people at Trump's event had weapons. She told lawmakers that this included people wearing armor and carrying weapons.

Before her work as special assistant to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, the 25-year-old Hutchinson worked for two lawmakers. They were House Republican leader Steve Scalise and Senator Ted⁴ Cruz, a Republican from Texas.

The House committee is made up of Democratic lawmakers. Two Republicans, including Liz Cheney, the vice-chair, were included by the Democratic majority in the House.

The committee has held five hearings so far. It has been seeking evidence mostly about whether Trump pressured federal agencies or state governments to interrupt the certification of Democrat⁸ Joe Biden's presidential election victory.

Words in This Story

steering wheel –n. a control wheel in a vehicle that the driver uses to turn the vehicle

limousine –n. a very large vehicle driven by a professional driver

testimony –n. something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising⁹ to tell the truth

armor –n. special clothing that people wear to protect their bodies from weapons

interrupt –v. to cause something to stop happening for a time

certification –n. the act of making something official

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。