“Ms. Hutchinson is keeping all the testimony she gave yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” Hutchinson’s attorneys Jody Hunt and William Jordan said in the statement.
Hutchinson testified for nearly two hours Tuesday and gave pre-hearing recorded statements, where he vividly described his experience at the White House near Meadows and then-President Donald Trump during the previous days and including the Capitol. . disturbis. Hutchinson described how Trump and Meadows had been repeatedly warned in advance and on the day of the attack about the possibility of violence, including that of armed individuals at the rally.
While Secret Service officials and those close to Trump have not questioned the global characterization of Hutchinson’s testimony, some are refuting specific statements and descriptions.
Unlike Hutchinson’s testimony, the limited denials were not made under oath.
Hutchinson stated that he had been told that when Trump was informed by security that he would not go to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he threw himself at the front of his vehicle and tried to turn the steering wheel with one hand while he used his other hand. to “attack” Robert Engel, the Secret Service agent in charge that day. Hutchinson testified that Tony Ornato, then deputy chief of staff of the White House, had told him this story, and that Engel had been there while the story was being told.
After the hearing, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Ornato denies telling Hutchinson that the former president grabbed the steering wheel or an agent in his detail.
Ornato is known to have a strong relationship with Trump and his team, after receiving an unusual resignation for suspending his time in the U.S. Secret Service to serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff in the White House.
Engel had previously testified before the committee and described interactions with Trump on Jan. 6, including the former president’s desire to travel to the Capitol, but Engel was not asked about an altercation or whether he had been assaulted. said the official.
The Secret Service, through the Legislative Affairs Office of the Department of Homeland Security, notified the committee Tuesday afternoon that it will make the officers involved available to testify under oath, the official said, and that officers are willing to say under oath that the incident Hutchinson described did not occur.
This story has been updated with additional news Wednesday.