The Trump White House knew protests on Jan. 6, 2021, could get violent and lead to a breach of government buildings, including the Capitol. That’s according to newly released documents and testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, the principal aide to former President Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson worked directly in the West Wing and remembered what Rudy Giuliani told her just days before the Jan. 6 riot.
“He had responded, something to the effect of, ‘We are going to the Capitol, it’s going to look great, the president’s going to be there, he’s going to look powerful,’” Hutchinson said of her interaction with Giuliani.
She said she immediately asked Meadows about what he knew might happen on the day of the electoral certification.
“There’s a lot going on Cass, but, I don’t know, but things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6,” Hutchinson said when describing Meadow’s reaction.
Hutchinsons said both Meadows and Giuliani inquired about receiving pardons from the president regarding Jan. 6.
A Capitol Police bulletin also warned there could be violence, “Unlike previous post-election protests the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counter-protestors as they were previously, but rather Congress itself is the target on the 6th.”
Newly released police transmissions from Jan. 6 show some of the protestors that day had guns.
“Underneath the blue jean jacket, complainants both saw stock of an AR-15,” one radio transmission said, referring to a person seen at the rally before the riot.
Another clip showed a message was sent over police radio trying to ensure the police department knew they had an “elevated threat”.
Hutchinson testified that Trump knew some people watching his rally on the White House ellipse before the riot were armed and told security to remove magnetometers so they could attend his speech at the ellipse and march to the Capitol. Trump also wanted to go to the Capitol to make a speech.
Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, warned Trump that if he went to the Capitol he would be charged with obstruction of justice and defrauding the electoral count. The president did not go to the Capitol that day because the Secret Service and other security officials refused to take him. The White House counsel’s office also urged Trump to put out a statement condemning the “illegal” act, but the statement was never issued.
The committee also confirmed that the president’s Cabinet secretaries considered invoking the 25th Amendment to strip Trump of all his presidential powers. The president delivered remarks about peace under pressure that there were discussions about the 25th Amendment and removing him with just two weeks left in office.
