Former President Donald Trump recently called for the prosecution of ex-White House aide and witness for the Select Committee on January 6 Cassidy Hutchinson in a post on Truth Social Monday via Mediaite.
“Our great Secret Service has totally CRUSHED Cassidy Hutchinson’s (who I barely knew) made up (FAKE!) stories about me roughing up Secret Service Agents from the back seat of the Beast (Limo),” declared Trump.
“Has she now changed her testimony? Will she be prosecuted for what she did and said?” wondered the former president. “What about the Unselect J6 Committee. They destroyed almost everything, including real evidence and findings. What’s going to happen with them – Serious crimes have been committed?”
Hutchinson was serving in the White House as an aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on the day of the Capitol riot. She later told the January 6 Committee that Tony Ornato had relayed to her that Trump had attempted to grab the steering wheel of his armored limousine — nicknamed the “Beast.”
It happened to redirect it back toward the Capitol Building after he delivered a speech at the White House Ellipse directing his followers to go to the Capitol to protest the certification of his loss in the 2020 election. She also reported that she had been told that Trump lunged at Agent Bobby Engel after he stopped Trump from grabbing the wheel.
Trump’s call for the prosecution of Hutchinson seems to be related to a report released by the House Administration Committee that disputed the events that Hutchinson said she was told about.
From the report:
The testimony of these four White House employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the Select Committee in the Final Report. None of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinson’s sensational story about President Trump lunging for the steering wheel of the Beast. However, some witnesses did describe the President’s mood after the speech at the Ellipse. It is highly improbable that the other White House Employees would have heard about the President’s mood in the SUV following his speech at the Ellipse, but not heard the sensational story that Hutchinson claims Anthony Ornato, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, told her after returning to the White House on January 6.
The driver of Trump’s vehicle on January 6 also snubbed the story told by Hutchinson in private testimony before the January 6 Committee that was not made public, according to the Administration Committee report. He said that he “did not see him reach [redacted]. [President Trump] never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.”
Similarly, Ornato testified that he did not “recollect” Hutchinson’s story. “I don’t recall that story happening,” he said.
To be prosecuted for perjury, there would need to be proof that Hutchinson was not told the story she passed on to the January 6 Committee, not simply that the story about Trump did not occur. In recent days Trump has also called for the prosecution of former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and the rest of the members of the House January 6th Committee.
