Trump 'chose not to act' as mob attacked, Jan. 6 committee says

Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone told the committee he and other officials attempted to push Trump to make a strong statement condemning the violence almost immediately.

"I think it was pretty clear there needed to be an immediate and forceful response, statement, public statement, that people needed to leave the Capitol now," Cipollone said in a taped deposition.

Ivanka Trump, White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and then-chief of staff Mark Meadows all felt the same, Cipollone testified.

Cipollone said it would've been "possible" for Trump to go to the White House briefing room to make a statement at any time. Sarah Matthews, the deputy press secretary at the time, testified live that it would have taken "probably less than 60 seconds" for Trump to go to the briefing room from his position in the dining room off the Oval Office.

Rep. Elaine Luria said that there is "evidence from multiple sources regarding an angry exchange in the presidential SUV" confirming Cassidy Hutchinson's previous bombshell testimony.

Hutchinson told the committee on June 28 that a member of Trump's security detail told her the president tried to grab the steering wheel as he demanded to join his supporters after his speech at the Ellipse. His team ultimately refused the request.

Sgt. Mark Robinson, a retired member of the Metropolitan Police Department responsible for the motorcade that day, told the committee he heard a similar description of what took place inside the vehicle.

"The description I received was the president was upset and was adamant about going to the Capitol, and there was a heated discussion about that," Robinson said in a videotaped interview.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., attempted to explain Trump's behavior on Jan. 6, when it took him several hours to respond to the riot.

"The mob was accomplishing President Trump's purpose, so of course he didn't intervene," Kinzinger said, noting the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory was delayed for hours due to the violence.

"Here's what will be clear by the end of this hearing," Kinzinger said. "President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home. He chose not to act."

Committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has sworn in the hearing's witnesses -- ex-staffers Matthew Pottinger, who was a member of the National Security Council, and Sarah Matthews, who served as deputy press secretary.

Both witnesses, seen as Trump White House insiders and supporters, resigned from their positions on Jan. 6 in the wake of the riot.