Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to then-White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows, revealed that former President Donald Trump “lunged” at the steering wheel, when a driver refused to take him to the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 attack. Hutchinson revealed much about Trump’s behavior that day, during the Select Committee hearing on Tuesday, June 28.
"I’m the F’ing President. Take me up to the Capitol now." pic.twitter.com/LWg2sdFtTi
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 28, 2022
Hutchinson revealed that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol with the rioters who eventually stormed the building, and he became “irate” when he learned that he wouldn’t be going after his speech. “Once the President had gotten into the vehicle with [Head of Security Detail] Bobby Engel, he thought that they were going up to the capitol and when Bobby had relayed to him, we’re not,” she said. “The President had very strong, very angry response to that.” She continued and said Trump demanded to be brought to the Capitol. “The President said something to the effect of ‘I’m the F-ing president. Take me up to the Capitol now,'” she testified.
The former aide continued and revealed that Trump got physical while still demanding to be brought to the Capitol. “[Trump] reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel,” she said, while Engel told him he’d be taking him back to the West Wing. “Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby,” she said, saying that Trump reached for his clavicles.
Hutchinson revealed that back at the White House Trump also threw a dish with his lunch at the wall, upon learning about an interview that his attorney general gave with The Associated Press, in the prior December.
In a pre-recorded deposition, Hutchinson spoke about Trump’s speech on the Ellipse, saying that he was angry that his supporters couldn’t be let in without passing through a metal detector and having weapons confiscated. “Take the F-ing [metal detectors] away. They’re not here to hurt me. Let them in. Let my people in,” Trump said to Secret Service, according to Hutchinson.
The Select Committee had previously announced that they wouldn’t be holding any more hearings after the fifth session on Thursday, June 23. The committee announced that it would be holding the last-minute session “to present recently obtained evidence” on Monday, June 27,
During the prior session, the committee focused on the pressure that Trump put on the Justice Department to say that the election was “corrupt,” but many officials high up in the DOJ refused. During the session, former Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue revealed that there was no evidence to show that corruption had affected the outcome of the 2020 election. “There were isolated instances of fraud. None of them came close to calling into question the outcome of the election in any individual state,” he said.
Amid the committee hearings, the Representatives on the committee had called for a number of politicians to speak with them, so that they could gather evidence about the lead-up to the invasion of the Capitol on January 6. The committee had repeatedly called on Republican Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk to question him about a tour he gave to a group of people on January 5, who attended the rally the following day. The committee re-upped the request after releasing a video of the tour group taking photos in suspicious areas and later were heard making threats against politicians in a video taken on January 6.
Other than the officials that have been questioned as part of the pressure campaign that Trump put on them in an effort to overturn the election, many other people have testified about the effect that the former president and his claims have had since the 2020 election. Two of the most memorable testimonies so far have come from election workers who received death threats as a result of Trump’s claims and a Capitol Police officer who fought back rioters during the insurrection.