WASHINGTON (AP) — More witnesses come forward with new details about the 6 Jan. Riots in the US Capitol following in the footsteps of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s devastating testimony last week against former President Donald Trump, says a member of a House committee investigating the uprising.
The panel has already subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who investigators hope will appear on Wednesday for a statement, and said it would also welcome further details from Secret Service members with Trump that day. .
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., cited Hutchinson’s testimony that Trump wanted to join an angry mob that marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6, where they rioted as particularly valuable to “inspire” more people to step forward as the committee is set for at least two public hearings this month.
“Every day we get new people coming up and saying, ‘Hey, I didn’t think this piece of the story I knew might be important,'” he said on Sunday. “There will be a lot more information and stay tuned.”
The committee has been to intensify its years of research in the January 6, 2021 attack and Trump’s efforts to undo the 2020 election. The following hearings are designed to show how Trump illegally sent a violent mob to the Capitol on Jan. 6, then failed to act quickly to stop the attack once it began. Over the weekend, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the commission’s vice chair, made it clear that: criminal references to the Justice Department, including against Trump.
The commission also reviewed new documentary footage of Trump’s last months in office, including interviews with Trump and members of his family.
Kinzinger declined to disclose the new information he referred to in a televised interview and did not say who provided it. He said nothing had changed the commission’s confidence in its credibility.
“There’s information I can’t say yet,” he said. “We would certainly say that Cassidy Hutchinson testified under oath, we find her credible, and anyone wishing to express contempt for that, who was present firsthand, should also testify under oath and not through anonymous sources.”
In a separate interview, another committee member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.: “We are following additional directions. I think those clues will lead to new testimonies.”
In Hutchinson’s appearance before the committee, she painted a picture of Trump as an angry, rebellious president trying to get armed supporters to avoid security screenings during a rally on the morning of January 6 to protest his 2020 election defeat against Democrat Joe Biden.
According to Hutchinson, Cipollone was concerned that Trump would face criminal charges if he joined his supporters in marching toward the Capitol.
Legal experts have said Cassidy’s testimony is potentially problematic for Trump as federal prosecutors investigate possible criminal wrongdoing.
Cheney said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the commission was still considering making recommendations to the Justice Department, indicating that “there could be more than one criminal referral”.
Committee members said they are hopeful Cipollone will come forward.
“He clearly has information about concerns about criminal violations, concerns about the president going to the Capitol that day, concerns that the chief of staff will have blood on his hands if they don’t do more to stop that violent attack on the Capitol,” Schiff said. . “It’s hard to imagine anyone taking center stage.”
In her testimony, Cassidy recounted a conversation with Tony Ornato, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for operations, who, she testified, said Trump later grabbed the wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to let him go to the Capitol after the rally.
However, that account was disputed. Bobby Engel, the Secret Service agent who controlled Trump, and Ornato are willing to testify under oath that no agent was attacked and that Trump never took the wheel, said a person familiar with the case. The person would not discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We had interviewed Mr. Ornato several times,” said D-Calif. Representative Zoe Lofgren, and a member of the panel. “His memory doesn’t seem to be as precise as hers. We would definitely welcome them to come back if they want to.”
The committee also worked on setting up an interview with Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She was asked to speak to the committee after revelations of her communications with Trump’s team leading up and the day of the Capitol uprising.
Kinzinger appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union”, Schiff was on CBS’ “Face the Nation”, Cheney appeared on ABC’s “This Week”, and Lofgren spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
†
For full coverage of the January 6 hearings, visit https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege