Lofgren says Cipollone ‘did not contradict the testimony of other witnesses’ in meeting with Jan. 6 panel

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, on Friday said former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone did not contradict the testimony of previous witnesses when he met with the panel Friday.

The meeting took place behind closed doors and came after explosive public testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, that placed Cipollone as a central player in the behind-the-scenes drama at the White House on Jan. 6.

“Mr. Cipollone did appear voluntarily and answer a whole variety of questions. He did not contradict the testimony of other witnesses. And I think we did learn a few things, which we will be rolling out in the hearings to come,” Lofgren told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. 

“So I think it was a, you know, a grueling day for all involved — Mr. Cipollone and the staff and the members, but it was well worth it.”

Blizter asked if people could be assume that Cipollone confirmed the testimony offered by Hutchinson.

“Not contradicting is not the same as confirming,” Lofgren said.

“He could say so and so was wrong, which he did not say. There were things that he might not be present for, or, in some cases, couldn’t recall with precision. My sense was that he, as I say, he did appear voluntarily. I think he was candid with the committee. He was careful in his answers, and I believe that he was honest in his answers,” she said. 

The House panel subpoenaed him following surprising testimony offered by Hutchinson.

Hutchinson said that in a conversation she had with him the morning of the riot, he had stressed that Trump should not be taken to the Capitol that day, warning that “we’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable” if Trump went. 

The former Meadows aide also testified that Cipollone had urged Meadows to take action on Jan. 6, at one point saying “Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your effing hands.”