Donald Trump rebuffed his own security’s warnings about armed protesters in the January 6 rally crowd and made desperate attempts to join his supporters as they marched to the Capitol, according to dramatic new testimony Tuesday before the House committee investigating the 2021 insurrection. Cassidy Hutchinson, a little-known former White House aide, described an angry, defiant president that day who…
A congressional panel investigating the US Capitol attack has subpoenaed Donald Trump’s White House counsel to testify about the former US president’s activities on the day of the melee.
The subpoena seeking a deposition from Pat Cipollone followed dramatic public testimony on Tuesday from a former White House aide, who told the panel that Mr Cipollone had warned her they could face “every crime imaginable” if Mr Trump went to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, after delivering a fiery rally speech to his supporters.
“The select committee’s investigation has revealed evidence that Mr Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and in the days that preceded,” the panel said on Wednesday (US time).
“Any concerns Mr Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony,” the committee said.
Mr Cipollone could not be reached immediately for comment.
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Mr Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the committee on Tuesday that Mr Trump wanted to leave the rally for the Capitol and that he grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential limousine when he learned the Secret Service would not drive him to there, where thousands of his supporters were rioting.
“We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable,” Ms Hutchinson said Mr Cipollone told her if Mr Trump were to go to the Capitol on January 6.
“‘We need to make sure that this doesn’t happen, this would be a really terrible idea for us. We have serious legal concerns if we go up to the Capitol that day,’” Mr Cipollone said, according to Ms Hutchinson’s testimony.
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