Former President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at the former White House aide who testified about his behavior during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, claiming she should be prosecuted for perjury.
Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to assert that Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to chief of staff Mark Meadows, lied under oath in her testimony to the special House committee investigating the riot.
To recap, Hutchinson claimed Trump knew some of his supporters attending his speech that day were armed — although the evidence for that is scant — and that Trump assaulted Secret Service agents and lunged to take the wheel of the presidential limo when they refused to drive him back to the Capitol.
As for the weapons, NPR reported in March 2021 that rioters used a “variety of weapons,” which included “stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats, and flagpoles wielded as clubs.” CNN reported in July 2021 that three people were charged with carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds that day. That’s out of nearly 900 people who have faced charges for participating in the brawl.
Meanwhile, Hutchinson testified about what she was told by others, not what she witnessed first-hand. The Secret Service agents who attended with Trump that day, including the limo driver, have refuted her claims and offered to testify as to what happened.
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On social media, conservatives have likened Hutchinson to actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted of lying to police after concocting a phony tale about a hate crime, and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who offered fact-free claims about being raped as a high school student by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
For his part, Trump wants direct action from the Justice Department against Hutchinson.
On Truth Social, Trump posted: “Social Climber Hutchinson lied about my attack on our great Secret Service, lied about her writing the White House note, lied about my throwing food at a wall in the Oval Office, & lied about my wanting to be surrounded by ‘people with guns’ during my ‘Go Peacefully and Patriotically’ speech (how crazy is that?), yet no guns were found in the Capitol. These lies, among others, were made UNDER OATH. What is the Justice Department going to do about this? Do we have a two tiered system of Justice?”
In a second post, he added, “Cassidy Hutchinson also forgot to tell the Unselects [House committee members] that she was desperate to go to Florida with certain others of the Trump staff, long after January 6th had come and gone.”
“If I was so evil,” he continued, “why did she fight so hard to stay a part of the MAGA TEAM? This is all documented in writing! Why did it take her so long to tell (make up!) these ridiculous and obviously Fake Stories, even after previously sitting for four long depositions? Was it, just maybe, her brand new lawyer? Lying under oath???”
Also on Thursday, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, a frequent Trump critic, bashed Hutchinson for her testimony.
Kelly, a lawyer, noted on her own program that Hutchinson repeatedly testified that she “overheard” comments, was “in the vicinity of a conversation,” and recalled discussions that were “something to the effect of.”
“Her memory appeared to be rather shaky,” Kelly something. “‘Something to the effect of’? You remember it very clearly? Then tell us what it was.”
The committee, which is made up of all Democrats and two Republicans handpicked by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is expected to release its final report this fall.
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