A Republican-led House committee on Monday released a report debunking claims by ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson that the former president attempted to commandeer a Secret Service SUV on Jan. 6, 2021.
The 81-page House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight report charges that lawmakers on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol âwere laser-focused on their effort to promote their pre-determined narrative.â
The report also claims that the Jan. 6 committee cherry-picked evidence, including failing to release full transcripts from key witnesses that disprove âsensationalâ claims made by Hutchinson.Â
The oversight subcommittee, headed by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), found that unreleased testimony by four White House employees present for Trumpâs Jan. 6, 2021, speech at the Ellipse âdirectly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinsonâ and the House panel investigating the riot.
âNone of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinsonâs sensational story about President Trump lunging for the steering wheel of the Beast,â the report states, referring to the president’s heavily-armored limousine.
Hutchinson, who at the time was an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified to the select committee that she was told Trump had shouted: âIâm the fâing president! Take me up to the Capitol now!â before he tried to grab the steering wheel from the driver in a desperate effort to join his supporters marching towards the Capitol.
Loudermilkâs report notes that Hutchinsonâs testimony was âdirectly refutedâ by White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Anthony Ornato â the man who according to Hutchinson, told her the anecdote â and the Secret Service agent driving the SUV.Â
âOrnato testified that the first time he had ever heard the story Hutchinson claims Ornato told her on January 6, was during Hutchinsonâs public testimony,â the oversight subcommittee report states.
âHutchinsonâs testimony was also contradicted by the [Secret Service] agent who was with President Trump on January 6,â the subcommittee found, which notes that âHutchinsonâs accusation came up only after the Secret Service agentâs attorney proactively brought up the subjectâ to select committee investigators.
âThe driver testified that he specifically refuted the version of events as recounted by Hutchinson,â according to the report. âThe driver of the SUV testified that he âdid not see him reach [redacted]. [President Trump] never grabbed the steering wheel. I didnât see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.ââ
The select committee âhid the driverâs full testimony and only favorably mentioned his testimony in its Final Report, it did not release the full transcript,â Loudermilkâs committee determined.
In a statement, Loudermilk argued that Americans deserve to know âthe entire truthâ about the events leading up to the riot at the Capitol.
âIt is unfortunate the Select Committee succumbed to their political inclinations and chased false narratives instead of providing the important work of a genuine investigation,â the Georgia Republican said. âIn my committeeâs investigation, it is my objective to uncover the facts about January 6, without political bias or spin. My report today is just the beginning.â
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