Cassidy Hutchinson stands by testimony, lawyer says amid pushback

by Olafimihan Oshin - 06/29/22 7:30 PM ET

Peter Afriyie
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is seen after a House Jan. 6 committee to hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.

Cassidy Hutchison is standing by her bombshell testimony during a public hearing Tuesday on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot amid pushback from Republican lawmakers and others involved in events that day, her lawyers said in a statement.

“Ms. Hutchinson stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol,” Hutchinson’s attorneys Jody Hunt and William Jordan said in a statement to The Hill on Wednesday.

Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, offered a series of new details on the conversations and interactions taking place within the White House as rioters were attacking the Capitol.

She described one incident in which former President Trump allegedly tried to order his way to the Capitol as the mob was storming the building, lunging toward security detail and trying to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle they were in.

Hutchinson, 26, also testified that she overheard that Trump wanted the Secret Service to remove metal detectors from the White House Ellipse area, so armed supporters could attend the rally he was speaking at. He later encouraged those same protesters to march to the Capitol.

Trump almost immediately responded to the claims on his Truth Social social media platform, saying he had no memory of working with Hutchinson and adding that she was “bad news” and a “leaker.”

Hutchinson said she learned of the motorcade episode from Tony Ornato, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, and Robert Engel, the special agent in charge for Secret Service on Jan. 6.

Several news outlets have since reported Engel and the driver are prepared to testify that neither was assaulted by Trump and that the former president did not try to grab the steering wheel.

“Ms. Hutchinson testified, under oath, and recounted what she was told. Those with knowledge of the episode also should testify under oath,” Hutchinson’s lawyer Hunt wrote on Twitter.