Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony before the House Special Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riot is expected to dominate this week’s show on Sunday.
Hutchinson, who was a special assistant to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified before a special House committee on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in a surprise hearing that the committee had scheduled the day before. The panel previously announced it would hold no additional public hearings until July.
Hutchinson shared several important pieces of information about former President Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 and his reactions to the crowd that gathered at the Capitol.
She testified that Trump knew crowd members at his Ellipse rally had guns before the riot, but said he didn’t care because they were “not here to hurt me.”
She recounted a tense moment she said then-Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato described to her in which Trump allegedly demanded to be driven to the Capitol after his speech at the Ellipse and tried to grab the steering wheel of a presidential car after being told he would not. he could go.
She also said that former White House adviser Pat Cipollone was concerned beforehand about the violence that occurred on Jan. 6 and was angry during the attack that Trump and Meadows did not try to do anything to control the crowd. , even as she called for former Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged. The commission subsequently issued Cipollone a subpoena to testify.
Multiple members of the Jan. 6 House panel will appear on the Sunday shows after the final hearing.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s vice chairman, supported Hutchinson’s testimony in an interview that will air in its entirety on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday after attacks on the former aide’s credibility.
Trump has denied assaulting his staffer in the car after they refused to give him a ride to the Capitol. Speaking to conservative news outlet Newsmax, Trump also said White House staff did not know members of the Trump rally crowd were armed and rejected Hutchinson’s testimony that he wanted to eliminate the magnetometer screening because it reflected on the size of the crowd.
Hutchinson’s attorneys said she stood by her testimony in which she said Robert Engel, the Secret Service special agent in charge on Jan. 6, was present when Ornato told her about the incident in the presidential car and did not contradict the details. on the account. Multiple news outlets reported that Ornato and Engel were prepared to testify that Trump did not try to grab the wheel.
The Secret Service said in a statement Tuesday that it would provide more information about the allegations.
“She’s an incredibly brave young woman,” Chaney said. “The committee will not stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men claiming executive privilege.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), the other Republican member of the panel, similarly defended Hutchinson, saying on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that Hutchinson has “a lot more guts” than almost any Republican member of Congress .
“I want to say again that Cassidy Hutchinson is a hero and a true patriot (not a fake ‘patriot’ who hates America so much they would attempt a coup.),” he tweeted Thursday.
Kinzinger will appear on CNN’s State of the Union.
Democratic panel members Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (Calif.) also defended Hutchinson and emphasized the importance of her testimony. Schiff will appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” while Lofgren will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Other testimony from Jan. 6 also faced some pushback.
The committee revealed last month that in testimony former Trump aides said Reps. Matt Goetz (R-Fla.), Moe Brooks (R-Ala.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) requested presidential pardons for their votes to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (RN.Y.) said Thursday that he was unaware of any of his fellow Republicans seeking clemency in connection with the attack, according to Spectrum News NY1 in New York. Hutchinson testified that Meadows and Trump lawyer Rudy Guiliani have also requested clemency.
Zeldin will appear on Sunday Morning Futures.
Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:
ABC’s “This Week” — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.); Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.); Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Mayorkas; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.); German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
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CNN’s “State of the Union” — Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.); Governor Christy Noem (RS.D.)
“Fox News Sunday” — John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council; Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.)
FOX News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah); Congressman Lee Zeldin (RN.Y.), Republican candidate for governor of New York; Peter Schweitzer, author of The Red Hand; Tiffany Smiley, Washington Senate candidate (right)
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