Jan. 6 hearing witness: Irate Trump grabbed wheel, demanded to go to Capitol

Cassidy Hutchinson said Trump was warned about potential violence, crimes.

ByLibby Cathey and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: July 21, 2022, 7:57 PM EDT

The House select committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack heard stunning testimony on Tuesday from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

She told the committee and an international TV audience that then-President Donald Trump was warned about potential violence and crimes, that he wanted supporters with weapons let into his Jan. 6 rally, and that she was told he then demanded his security detail take him to the Capitol, going so far as to grab the wheel of the presidential SUV.

This was the sixth hearing this month investigating what the committee says was the conspiracy by Trump and his allies to overturn the election.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

Jun 28, 2022, 1:00 PM EDT

Former WH deputy press secretary shows support for Hutchinson

Former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews showed support for Cassidy Hutchinson ahead of her scheduled testimony.

"Just want to say how much admiration I have for the tremendous bravery Cassidy Hutchinson is displaying," Matthews wrote on Twitter. "Even in the face of harassment and threats, she is choosing to put her country first and tell the truth."

"This is what real courage, integrity, and patriotism looks like," Matthews added.

Matthews resigned from her position in the Trump administration on Jan. 6 , stating she was "deeply disturbed" by what took place that day.

Jun 28, 2022, 12:59 PM EDT

Witness switched attorneys as public hearings began

Cassidy Hutchinson hired a new attorney, Jody Hunt, earlier this month to represent her as the public Jan. 6 hearings began. Her agreement to testify publicly comes after months of negotiations between the committee and her counsel, sources told ABC News.

At the start of the Trump administration, Hunt served as chief of staff to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He later became the head of the Department of Justice's Civil Division.

Jun 28, 2022, 12:23 PM EDT

Who is Cassidy Hutchinson?

The committee's expected witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, is a former top adviser to Trump's White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

A 2019 political science graduate of Virginia's Christopher Newport University, Hutchinson was as an intern to House GOP Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in college before serving as a White House intern in 2018. After graduating, she joined the Trump White House Office of Legislative Affairs, before joining Meadows as an executive assistant, and later a special assistant to the president.

An image of Cassidy Hutchinson is shown during the fifth hearing held by the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on June 23, 2022 in Washington.
Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images

"I have set a personal goal to pursue a path of civic significance," she told her alma mater in a 2018 interview after her White House internship.

Having already sat four separate times for closed-door depositions with the committee, Hutchinson has been featured in clips publicly displayed by the committee, including some in which she discussed members of Congress asking the White House for pardons.

Jun 28, 2022, 9:57 AM EDT

Surprise hearing signals committee's urgency

The House select committee will convene Tuesday afternoon for a surprise public hearing, signaling apparent urgency among members to reveal further findings from their year-long inquiry.

The hearing, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, will see the committee "present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony," the group said in a news release Monday.

PHOTO: U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar, Committee Chairperson Rep. Bennie Thompson and Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, attend a public hearing to investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 16, 2022.
Members of the U.S. House Select Committee, U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar, Committee Chairperson Rep. Bennie Thompson and Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, attend the third of eight planned public hearings to investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 16, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top adviser to Donald Trump's last chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is expected to testify, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Punchbowl News first reported her appearance.

Hutchinson is expected to put a voice to many of the internal White House interactions involving the events of Jan. 6 and offer significant insight into Meadows' actions and interactions with Trump.

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