Like no witness before her, Cassidy Hutchinson brought audiences to the West Wing on January 6 and in the days surrounding it. In live testimony and videotaped clips of her testimony, she used vivid detail to recount scenes involving President Donald Trump and some of his closest aides.
Illustrations by Lara Antal for custom-hutchinson-visual (Lara Antal for The Washington Post)
From the Oval Office dining room to the backstage area of the White House Ellipse, she explained how Trump and those around him reacted to key moments that led to the Trump uprising, citing many of her conversations with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as well as from discussions she overheard involving the president.
Here are four of the revealing scenes described by Hutchinson:
December 1, 2020: Ketchup on the wall
Hutchinson was near the Oval Office dining room on Dec. 1, 2020, as President Donald Trump watched as his attorney general, William P. Barr, told The Associated Press that the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. She heard a commotion, and when the valet invited her into the dining room, she saw the consequences of the president’s reaction.
Story continues below the ad
Story continues below the ad
January 2, 2021: “Going to the Capitol”
On January 2, 2021, four days before the attack on the Capitol, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani met with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and others. Hutchinson took Giuliani out of the White House that night and heard him review the events of January 6.
January 6, 2021: “They’re not here to hurt me”
Backstage before Trump’s speech to supporters at the Ellipse, Hutchinson stood close to the president as he assessed the size of the crowd and, as he said, asked that the metal detectors be removed so that people with firearms could attend, saying, “They are not here to hurt me
Story continues below the ad
Story continues below the ad
January 6, 2021: I will not go to the Capitol
Hutchinson described what Tony Ornato, deputy chief of staff for operations, told her about Trump’s reaction when he was told he could not join supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
About this story
Illustrations by Lara Antal. Design and development by Aadit Tambe. Audio by Sabi Robinson. Additional reporting by Isaac Stanley-Becker. Editing by Madison Walls, Rachel Orr and Griff Witt. Copy editing by Jordan Melendrez.
Add Comment