This is a developing story.
The sixth public hearing of the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is now underway, with testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a special assistant to former President Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson had previously given four videotaped interviews to the committee, and reportedly has knowledge of behind-the-scenes events in the final days of the Trump Administration, as the former president and those closest to him allegedly sought ways to overturn the 2020 presidential election, won by his opponent Joe Biden.
“Almost all, if not all, meetings Mr. Trump had, I had insight on,” Hutchinson has said before the committee, Politico reports.
So far in Tuesday’s hearing, which was abruptly announced on Monday, Hutchinson told the committee that Meadows told her “things might get real, real bad” on January 6 after she’d fielded a phone call with Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. During that phone call, Hutchinson recalls that Giuliani told her “something to the effect of ‘we’re going to the Capitol.’
“That evening was the first moment that I remember feeling scared and nervous for what could happen on January 6,” she previously said.
Hutchinson has shared details with the committee about events of the days leading up to the January 6 attack. In today’s testimony, she alleges to have heard the names of two far-right groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, both of whom took part in the attack, mentioned by White House insiders in the days prior to the attack.
She also testified today that both the former president and Meadows were aware that some of the supporters who descended on the Capitol that day were armed.
Hutchinson previously told the committee about coordination between the former president and various conservative lawmakers, including Representatives Andy Biggs (AZ), Mo Brooks (AL), Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX), Paul Gosar (AZ), Jody Hice (GA), Jim Jordan (OH), Debbie Lesko (AZ), and Scott Perry (PA), as they discussed ways to overturn the election results.
Hutchinson’s testimony is currently underway before the House committee. The hearings are being televised on multiple networks, including USA Today, CNN, and NPR.
