Donald Trump had to be held back from joining his enraged, rioting supporters — even after the president was told they were armed — in their assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to astonishing testimony to the Jan. 6 committee Tuesday from a former top White House aide.
Trump, spewing expletives, was so angry at being told he had to return to the White House that he tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limousine away from his driver, the aide said, relating what she was told by the White House deputy chief of staff for operations.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a key staffer to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows at the time of the attack and the sole live witness Tuesday, revealed eye-popping details about the conduct of Trump, Meadows and other White House officials on Jan. 6, 2021.
She also told of an earlier incident in which Trump was so furious with Attorney General Bill Barr that, Hutchinson was told, Trump threw his lunch at the wall — she asked what had happened when she saw “ketchup dripping down the wall” in the Oval Office dining room.
At the Ellipse
Hutchinson was with Trump and a handful of staffers and family members offstage before the president’s speech at the White House Ellipse on Jan. 6.
She told the committee Tuesday she overheard Trump complaining about the crowd looking too small on TV, due to the presence of magnetometers, known as “mags” for short, screening attendees for weapons.
“I don’t effing care that they have weapons,” Trump said, according to Hutchinson, speaking of his supporters. “They’re not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here.”
Despite pleading from the staffers in the White House Counsel’s Office, Trump wanted to join his backers at the Capitol, and told them during the speech he would be with them.
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone told Hutchinson to keep Trump from the Capitol, saying, “We’re going to be charged with every crime imaginable” if Trump made the trip.
Ahead of the speech, Cipollone’s office and White House Senior Advisor Eric Herschmann advised Trump speechwriters to be careful with the Ellipse address, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson testified that Herschmann told her he’d advised Trump it would be foolish to have lines the president wanted in the speech, including different versions of “fight for Trump,” a promise he’d be at the Capitol and an implication Vice President Mike Pence could have a role in overturning the election.
“Mr. Herschmann and (the) White House Counsel’s Office were urging the speechwriters to not include that language for legal concerns,” Hutchinson said. “And also for the optics of what it could portray the president wanting to do that day.”
But Trump included all that language in his speech anyway.
Trump grabs for steering wheel
After his speech, Trump still demanded to be taken to the Capitol, Hutchinson said.
Shortly after Trump and his entourage returned to the White House, Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Operations Tony Ornato called Hutchinson into his office, where Bobby Engel, the head of Trump’s security detail was sitting, Hutchinson said.
Ornato told Hutchinson that when Trump got into the presidential limousine after the speech, the president was under the impression –— based on what Meadows had told Trump immediately before he took the stage — that he could still go to the Capitol.
When Engel told Trump that the Capitol had not been secured for a presidential visit and that they were going back to the White House, Trump was irate.
“The president had a very strong, very angry response to that,” Hutchinson said. “Tony described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.’”
When Engel denied him again, Trump reached for the steering wheel, but Engel restrained him, Hutchinson said.
Engel did not correct or disagree with any part of Ornato’s account to Hutchinson, she said Tuesday.
Ketchup on the wall
Hutchinson also described an earlier tantrum Trump threw in the White House.
Around the time The Associated Press published an article quoting from an interview with then-Attorney General Barr in which the Justice Department head said the department had found no evidence of widespread fraud in the presidential election, Hutchinson heard noise from the Oval Office dining room.
Trump then called Meadows into the dining room. When that meeting ended a few minutes later, Hutchinson went into the dining room, where she saw an employee cleaning up.
“I first noticed that there was ketchup dripping down the wall and there was a shattered porcelain plate on the floor,” Hutchinson said. “The valet had articulated that the president was extremely angry at the attorney general’s AP interview and had thrown his lunch against the wall.”
Barr later met with Trump over the interview and off-handedly offered his resignation, he said in a taped deposition.
Trump pounded the table and said, “Accepted,” Barr recounted in the deposition.
No urgency
Later, as Hutchinson saw on television rioters approach and eventually breach the Capitol, she became increasingly alarmed at the lack of urgency from Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman, and Trump.
Meadows had been alone in his office for most of the afternoon when Hutchinson entered just after 2 p.m., where she saw him seated on the couch, scrolling on his phone, she said.
Hutchinson asked if Meadows had seen the television coverage of the rioters approaching the Capitol and if he had talked to Trump, she said in a taped deposition played Tuesday.
Without looking up from his phone, Meadows brushed off his aide, saying that Trump wanted “to be alone right now,” Hutchinson said.
“I remember thinking in that moment, ‘Mark needs to snap out of this and I don’t know how to snap him out of this but he needs to care,’” Hutchinson said.
Minutes later, after rioters got inside the Capitol, she saw Cipollone “barreling down the hallway” to Meadows’ office and rushing in, leaving the door open to the anteroom where Hutchinson worked.
Cipollone urged Meadows to get Trump to intervene, Hutchinson said.
“Mark looked up at him and said, ‘He doesn’t want to do anything, Pat,’” she said.
Cipollone responded that “something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood’s going to be on your effing hands,” Hutchinson said.
That got Meadows to accompany Cipollone to see Trump, who was a few paces away, she said.
‘Mike deserves it’
After the meeting, Hutchinson overheard another conversation between Meadows and Cipollone.
The White House counsel was urging Meadows to do more, noting that the rioters were chanting to hang Vice President Mike Pence.
“You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it,” Meadows told Cipollone, apparently referring to Trump, according to Hutchinson. “He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong.”
Rather than quell the riot, Trump inflamed it, tweeting at 2:24 p.m. that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”
Trump had pressured Pence for days to use his ceremonial position certifying the election results to reject legitimate results. Pence viewed that plan as outside the vice president’s legal authority and wrong morally and refused to participate.
“President Trump’s view that the rioters were not doing anything wrong and that ‘Mike deserved it’ helps us to understand why the president did not ask the rioters to leave the Capitol for multiple hours,” committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, said.
A future hearing “in the weeks ahead” will detail Trump’s inaction as his supporters besieged the Capitol, Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat said.
Trump disputed much of Hutchinson’s testimony Tuesday on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded after being removed from Twitter in the days following Jan. 6. Trump denied that he said that Pence deserved to be hanged, the comments on magnetometers, grabbing the steering wheel and throwing his lunch.
The pardons
Hutchinson’s testimony and other information presented Tuesday reinforced the message the committee has sent throughout its series of hearings about how Trump gravitated to the most extreme advisers in his orbit pushing to overturn the election.
Asked in a taped deposition played at Tuesday’s hearing if he believed in the peaceful transition of power in the United States, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, whom Trump had already pardoned for his role in another controversy involving the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Trump resisted advice from White House lawyers and other advisers to make a speech on Jan. 7 condemning the riot, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson drafted a speech that called for prosecuting rioters and calling them violent, lines that didn’t make it into the final speech.
Trump did ultimately deliver a speech on Jan. 7 in which he ad-libbed very little, Cheney said, noting that was unusual for the former president. In the Jan. 7 address, his only change to the written version to skip a line that “this election is now over,” Cheney said.
As the speech was being drafted, Trump advocated for language about pardoning rioters, Hutchinson said, adding Meadows encouraged such a line.
Hutchinson — who previously testified that at least five Republican House members sought Jan. 6-related pardons — said Tuesday that Meadows and Trump outside lawyer Rudy Giuliani also wanted Trump to pardon them.
‘Trump does read transcripts’
In the closing minutes of the hearing, Cheney said some witnesses the committee has interviewed behind closed doors have told the panel that people close to Trump have pressured them not to be truthful.
“What they said to me is, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I’m on the right team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump world,” one witness said, according to Cheney.
“And they reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just keep that in mind as I proceed through my interviews with the committee.”
–Jacob Fischler, Florida Phoenix
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Edith Campins says
“Election investigators in Georgia found just four absentee ballots that had been cast in the 2020 election on behalf of voters who had died, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said on Monday.
The finding further undermines former President Trump’s baseless claim that ballots from some 5,000 deceased voters were cast in the 2020 election in Georgia and contributed to his loss in the state.
Investigators reviewed dozens of allegations that dead people had voted in the election. By the end of the review, they had uncovered only four such instances. In each case, relatives of the deceased had cast the ballot.”
HE LOST!
Linda says
Crickets 🦗 🦗🦗
John Kociuba says
Washington D.C. is the enemy of the american people! Yes. Only 1/4 of americans are working full time. These individuals are not only holding up the United States but the entire world! We didn’t need Trump to point out the obvious. Americas true insurrection is Pentagon & Washington D.C. Communists. Has America won a military conflict in 60 yrs with all this technology 1/4 of the american people sweat and slave to provide? No! People with disabilities, foreign national illegal aliens, drug addicts, global handouts to Nations States like France that work 6 months out of the year. NATO, United Nations……unbelievable “Trump” is even a topic but demon traitors in Washington D.C. use distraction.
Gary R says
Reports have also come in from Secret Service agents suggesting that Hutchinson’s claims about Trump lunging at and trying to seize control of the White House limo were false.
Reportedly, a source close to the Secret Service told NBC’s Peter Alexander that “both Bobby Engel, the lead agent, [and the agent allegedly lunged at by Trump] and the presidential limousine/SUV driver are prepared to testify under oath that neither man was assaulted and that Mr. Trump never lunged for the steering wheel.”
Given her distance from the president, and given the denials streaming in in the aftermath of the last-minute hearings, Hutchinson’s testimony remains largely contested and uncorroborated.
Wallingford says
Hopefully the MAGA Troops paid attention to the facts that came out during today’s hearing. Do you want somebody who throws a tantrum like a baby or attempts to strangle a Secret Service Agent who is willing to take a bullet for him to be your next Commander in Chief? I doubt it. Again, he was more interested in the picture of his crowd than the safety of the Capitol. He knew his followers had weapons but incited them to march on the Capitol. He better get a better Lawyer than Rudy or Eastman because an Indictment with his name on it is in the near future. DeSantis must be smiling ear to ear.
just bob says
And yet we still have a Trump club here in Flagler county. Aren’t they just a wee bit embarrassed by now?
David Schaefer says
Thank you Ms Hutchinson for coming forward and telling the truth and of course trump said who is she I don’t know her. This clown needs to be in prison for what he has done he is a disgrace and a useless human being. I hope that many Americans are watching these hearings this is worse than Watergate folks.
Sam says
This is better then any soap opera ever written. One young woman in the West Wing cared about the USA and is a true patriot for coming forward, was not a coward or pleaded the 5th like the weak boys in Trumps orbit.
The Attorney General knows what needs to be done.
As the saying goes the truth always comes out and it has and will continue to.
Anthony says
Hey Donald your sure made DeSantis win for President a lot easier. Not to worry about you both running for the same job you won’t be given the opportunity since you can’t run for office when your are in prison.
Pierre Tristam says
I’m shocked, shocked that witness tampering would be taking place by such fine people in the Trump junta.
Sherry says
@jk. . . please cite/send links for “credible FACTS” for all your ridiculous claims. Otherwise, we will all be convinced of “your” mindless BS.
Been There says
T wasn’t riding in the presidential limousines that day. That has already been established. I did hear a lot of heresay in her testimony. I wish I could say otherwise. Facts are facts. I am only interested in first party information.
agitator says
Bobby Engel, the lead agent, and the presidential limousine/SUV driver are prepared to testify under oath that neither man was assaulted and that Mr. Trump never lunged for the steering wheel. Sheesh…Gullible because of your hatred of anything Trump.
agitator says
Nope, we are laughing at you !
The dude says
No.
Embarrassment and shame are simply not in their DNA.
Neither are truthfulness, honor, morality, honesty, civility, humility, and long long list of admirable qualities.
Lies and poo flinging is all they got.
Motherworry says
Do you really think trump was telling the truth when in an attempt to discredit her he said he didn’t know who she was? Given his past, I’d bet he knew everybody wearing a skirt within 100 feet of him, her office was 30 feet from him.
I’m not surprised that the secret service agents circled the wagons. Especially given their name SECRET Service.
Uncorroborated? She was under oath when she testified. The deniers haven’t the courage to testify under oath, as such their wailing and crying is laughable. And that is the problem it is all based on a friggin’ lie.
This young lady had more ball than his ass kissers and enablers. She’s a true patriot!
Tom says
Yea Trump had his issues but the Biden administration is literally destroying our country one day at a time.
WakeUpAmerica says
Nothing to see here only a deranged power-hungry lunatic that knew EVERYTHING. He was one of the original plotters and planners. A sitting President, with nuclear codes. The Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces. A man so delusional he thought he couldn’t lose. This man engaged in an attack on Democracy, on our Republic not just on Jan 6th but by appointing 3 Supreme Court justices that lied under oath in order to be confirmed for reasons we have only started to see.
I’m very curious to learn if these calls from the Trump children starting on September 29th, asking a “person or persons” if they “have their vote,” was to one or more of these Justices (or future Justices, ACB) being asked about the “fake elector” scheme that would’ve pushed this to the Supreme Court. “If this gets there, like 2000 did, do we have your vote.”
Don’t be naive – this was planned the moment he took office. Not necessarily the “violent mob” but dismantling our belief that elections are fair. The constant cry of “fake news” only enhanced their message. It’s straight out of the Nazi playbook – repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it and when exposed to the truth they will always believe the lie.
This is why he nominated who he did. If these calls confirm they were asked about securing their votes a la 2000-style, how can ANYONE look at this court as anything but an extension of the seditious conspiracy to overthrow a free and fair election and install a dictator who would then let his children succeed him. No more elections. The seditious 5 in the Supreme Court (Kavanaugh, ACB, Gorsuch, and Alito and Thomas because they want to own the libs) would see to that. It’s not a fantasy novel. This was in that filmmakers documentary – the succession-like political dynasty. Add in Ginny Thomas and her calls, texts, funding and knowledge of how far she could push, knowledge obtained from her Supreme Court husband, who no doubt told her – don’t worry, we have the votes, we will be fine.
Wake up America. Wake. Up. Put the partisan politics aside. Put the hate for one another because of our differences aside. Is this right? Is what a SITTING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND HIS DEEPY ROOTED ALLIES did OK with you? Stop owning the libs. Stop berating conservatives. This is America. Supposedly the greatest country on earth mere moments away from losing ALL of that because of seditious traitors. Before you hang your flags, eat off your flag plates, wear your pro-America shirts and marvel at the fireworks celebrating the birth of our nation, think about where you stand on January 6. If you think it was OK then you are NOT a patriot. You are NOT a true American. You are NOT what you think you are. And we WILL reclaim the flag from your seditious perversions.
Pierre Tristam says
Right. Let’s compare Dresden in 1945 to to the bombing of the Ellwood oil field in 1942 as long as you’re at it. Your equivalency is no less absurd.
Dianne says
Just more BS so that they can keep Trump off the ballot…you people in Flagler county enjoying high gas prices along with food prices? If so you are the ones we are laughing at… stupidity is all I can say
Anthony says
She was under oath and maybe Trump and his clan would lie undr oath but I doubt Ms. Hutchinson did. Of course Trumpest supporters aren’t going to admit Trump did any wrong they are in denial and they need to ask themselves what has he ever done for them? If they are honest their answer is NOTHING. He could give to craps about them and will use them as he uses others. He didn’t even care if his own VP was killed that should wake up his supports but it won’t.
Anthony says
Embarrassed of course they aren’t they are in denial. DeSantis sure is looking real good for the Republican party, and they will dumb Trump just like he would dump them if it would benefit him.
Motherworry says
You might be correct. WTF would he do if he reached the steering wheel with his little boy sized hands?
Well, they are prepared to testify. But will they? Doubtful because that will open them up to other questions. Just posturing nothing more.
Anthony says
He is the actions of a real want to be dictator MADMAN. Anyone that does and acts the way he does has no business being in the Republican party or the Democrat party. The maniac has never told the truth and will con anyone out of a dime if it means he doesn’t have to work for a living, He thinks he is a Mob Boss but hate to tell him Mob Bosses are way smarter then Trump will ever be. He finally got caught of his life of crimes. The truth always comes out in the end.
Shellry says
Watch 2000 Mules and then maybe you’ll see the truth
JimBob says
Ask yourself whether, knowing Trump’s character and mode of behaviour he has displayed in public, this woman’s personal observations and the information given to her by other first hand observers is more or less likely to be true.
FB Native says
Do you think the J1C didn’t already know/corroborate their accounts prior to having Ms. Hutchinson testify yesterday? Speaking of gullible — Pot, meet Kettle!
Laurel says
YouTube has all the hearings so far; it should be watched by every American. I can comfortably wager it’s being watched around the world.
Trump stated he didn’t know who Hutchinson was. Considering her office was a ten second walk down the hall from the Oval Office, sounds like he lied yet again. Now, most of the questioning is done by Republicans and the witnesses are Republicans. This makes sense as these Republicans were in Trump’s inner circle, Trump’s administration. If I were innocent, I would want to testify to set things straight, but instead, a certain group of Republicans, directly involved with January 6th, are taking the fifth, refusing to show up and/or requesting pardons. Got something to hide? Got a lot to hide, and more to cover up?
I often wonder why BLM and Antifa would dress up like Trumpers on January 6th, as some of Trump’s administration suggested, and how the real Trumpers feel about being called BLM and Antifa, and why Trump would want to pardon them. Make up your minds, folks.
Stop trying to play this down. These people, including Trump, should be tried for treason and put in prison. There is a preponderance of evidence. Face it, logic will win in the end, even if you prefer “alternate truth.”
Laurel says
David S.: This makes Watergate look like a turtle eating lettuce. The Republicans back then told Nixon to leave. Now days, most of them are shaking in their boots, or trying to see if they can come up with a crazier theory than Italian satellites or nano bots in the vaccines (just got boosted yesterday, and now the Democrats know I’m home).
Laurel says
agitator (interesting name): Let us know when Engel testifies. We’ll be waiting.
Laurel says
Tom: “Issues?” You call this “issues?” You think the President of the United States who wanted a weaponized, militarized, riled up angry crowd to storm the United States Capital, federal buildings, and target, and kill, members of Congress are “issues?” Come back to planet Earth, Major Tom.
FlaglerLive says
“2000 Mules” was thoroughly discredited by Reuters, FactCheck, NPR, the Washington Post, The New York Times, which calls it “A Big Lie in a New Package,” and many others to whom empirical data matters. On the other hand, Ginni Thomas’s Heritage Foundation loved it.
Laurel says
Dianne: Deflection. Trumpers’ favorite pass time.
Laurel says
Shellry: Try horse deworming pills, or injecting bleach to rid yourself of Covid, and you, too, maybe shall then see the truth.
The dude says
What republicans consider to be an “alpha” male these days is simply embarrassing.
Deka says
Do you understand what you are saying??? this women testified that someone retold a story and the secret service guy was present and he did not try to correct the story. Therefore she says it was true. The secret service say they want to be brought in front of the committee and be sworn in to tell the truth . They where in the car and have publicly stated that did NOT happen. However, you believe the women who said she heard a story, amazing.
Linda says
Thank you!
Sherry says
@ d. . .How very pathetic that you care more about the “GLOBAL” inflation of gasoline and food prices. . . which is NOT controlled by the Biden administration. . . than you do our democracy! Or, is it that you care nothing for FACTS that do not fit with your mindless FOX/trump cult alternate reality?
Sherry says
@agitator. . . If there is another set of FACTS to be told, why doesn’t trump, bannon, giuliani, ole bobby engel, meadows, et al testify under oath? We are all waiting!
Be a true courageous patriot. . . stop watching FOX. . . take your brain back. . . watch all the hearings and listen to the under oath testimony from trump Republicans. Then listen to ALL that sworn testimony (that doesn’t exist) from those who are saying all those who have testified so far are wrong. Follow the FACTS! The TRUTH will set you free!
Sherry says
@t. . . Precisely how is President Biden destroying our country? FACTS ONLY . . . not FOX BS. . . not right winged mindless opinion. . . facts only, please.
Dennis C Rathsam says
why have over 1 million people joined the GOP?
Dennis C Rathsam says
The jackass KOOL-AID makes folks lie, cheat, & tax us somemore!
TrumpIsATraitor says
If the President wasn’t in a limo how did he get to and from the White House to the rally? He certainly didn’t walk.
He was at the rally as there is loads of video and photo evidence.
Multiple people incluidng his children and Secret service Agents testified that Trump demanded to go to from the rally to the Capitol. He was overruled due to the concern that the Secret Service could not provide for his safety given Agents and Capitol Police both encountered armed people at the rally and rioters at the Capitol.
Trump’s legal counsel and the Secret Service Agents who were present have already testified before the January 6th committee. Their testimony is now confirmed by Ms. Hutchinson and draws a straight line from what happened in the vehicle that day to Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and the former President.
How many people have to testify that Trump sought to interfere with the election? How many people have to testify that he commented multiple times that Vice President Pence should ignore or break Federal laws. When Vice President Pence fulfilled his duties as per the constitution and Federal laws President Trump wished him harm (agreed with rioters calls that Pence be hanged.).
Too bad Trump didn’t just go to the Capitol. Had he gone there no doubt his cabiunet would have invoked the 25th ammendment and removed this traitor from office immediately. He got lucky that those around him didn’t listen to his cackle and did their jobs.
Read the transcripts. https://january6th.house.gov/ Facts are facts. Trump is a traitor.
Steve says
2000 jackasses
G A says
I used to work with a SS agent who was on President Ford’s detail, who left that department and came to work for mine. He was a scammer from day one. I haven’t trusted the SS since then. It is very very obvious that some members of the SS were and still are, trumpers. Even the SS agent that tried to coerce VP Pence to get into the car so he could be whisked away from DC. Even Pence knew he couldn’t trust all the SS agents and rightfully refused!
G A says
Trump used to be a democrat. Thank God he changed parties, so we don’t have to hang our heads in shame at this buffoon who the cult of the gullible elected.
Anti Christ says
He lost. He’s a sore loser and you’re brainwashed. Nothing short of the Anti Christ.
Gary R says
What Been There means is Trump wasn’t even in the Beast (limousine) that day; even the Jan. 6 Committee quietly walked back that aspect of Hutchinson’s testimony by posting video of “the Suburban he was riding in.”
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 on his detail.
The committee did not ask Secret Service witnesses to respond to Hutchinson’s testimony prior to Tuesday’s hearing, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Wednesday.
“We were not asked to reappear before the Committee in response to yesterday’s new information and we plan on formally responding on the record,” Guglielmi said. “We have and will continue to make any member of the Secret Service available.”
Have to wait and see.
Saltysands says
A scroll through tiktok post a few months back would answer that question. There is/was a campaign for democrats to change their registration to republican to make the GOP think they have the votes, all of those people plan to vote democrat in the election. I personally know people that are doing this.
DFinPalmCoast says
@ WakeUp … the voice of sensibility, reason, and intelligent analysis. Thank you. The two party “with us or against us” mentality is killing our country. People in allied countries used to look up to us for leadership, a beacon of freedom. We just got back from 3 weeks out of the country and without exception every single person who spoke of American politics wants to know what the hell is wrong with us right now!
Sam says
Loose canon Trump lover of Putin sure is making DeSantis election for President a lot easier. Trump is washed up and soon will be facing the courts of law that he has broken for so many years. He is loyal only to himself. He is a walking time bomb.
DaleL says
In many locations independents and Democrats are registering as Republicans because the primaries are closed to members of other parties. In deep “red” districts this is the only way that these people can meaningfully influence the final election.
Trump and his co-conspirators do a lot of talking, but never back it up with verifiable facts. Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony was public and under oath. Her testimony is relatively easy to verify. However, Trump and his willing accomplices are attempting to persuade the gullible to trust anonymous “sources” or propaganda such as “2000 Mules”.
DaleL says
John, your post is a Gish Gallop. However, let us just check one of your claims: “Only 1/4 of americans are working full time.” Statista states on their website that in May 2022 there were 132.82 million Americans employed full time. The population of the United States is estimated at 332 million according to USAFACTS. That indicates that 40% of Americans (2/5) are working full time. However, 22 percent of Americans are under the age of 18 and 17 percent are over the age of 65. Thus 37 percent of Americans are not likely to be able or want to work full time. Of the 209 million Americans, between the ages of 18 and 65, 2/3rds have full time employment.
Thus your claim that only 1/4 of Americans are working full time is not true. It is a lie.
The Gish gallop definition: “…a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments.” (Wikipedia)
Gish gallop is a type of logical fallacy – meaning an error in reasoning – that occurs when someone throws at you a myriad of half-truths and misleading statements in hopes of making their stance stronger. (fallicyinlogic)
DaleL says
Hutchinson testified publicly under oath. If she lied, she could be subject to being charged with perjury. Unnamed claimed “sources” are just a smokescreen. The Select Committee has issued a public invitation for anyone with direct knowledge to come forward and testify.
Also, Engel has already testified to the January 6 committee behind closed doors. Some details of his deposition were previously reported by Politico. Newsweek also reported: “Ryan Goodman, professor of law at New York University School of Law, said it is “legally significant” that some of Engel’s testimony is “consistent” with Hutchinson.”
DaleL says
Actually the Republicans back then were sticking with Nixon until the tape recordings were discovered. Then they bailed like rats leaving a sinking ship. It does seem like this might be happening again. Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers have now run editorials against Trump. His Fox “news” has started covering the Select Committee’s public hearings. USA Today has an editorial against Trump on the front page of their papers.
It is hard to predict at this point, but I think this will not end up well for our former president.
James says
Were there seven people in the that vehicle? That would make it “the beast with seven heads.”
DaleL says
Bobby Engel has already testified to the January 6 committee behind closed doors.
FB Native says
Deka — I’d love to see Engel, Ornato, Meadows, & Drumpf all testify under oath, telling their side of the story. We shall see soon enough.
In the interim, continue on with your gullibility — the GOP has groomed you well :)
TrumpIsATraitor says
How many times does someone have to say ‘what so and so means’ when it comes to the Trump presidency?
OK. ‘The Beast’ is a presidential Cadillac limo. Clearly Trump drove in a black SUV, not a limo. He was in an SUV where it is far easier for a back seat passenger to reach out for the steering wheel and touch front seat passengers.
An ‘official familiar with the matter’ is the way that a person who works in or for a political organization avoids going on the record. That statement is meaningless. The only statements that matter are the ones with peoples names of people who were under oath next to them. Like ‘Ms. Hutchinson’ and ‘Shaye Moss’.
Ask Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman about ‘being familiar with the matter’. They’re the Georgia election workers falsely villified by Trump allies trying to steal that state’s election. Listen as they recount the lies that were spread about what they did when they were just doing their jobs as election workers. Ask about how how Trump and his allies upended their lives, fueling harassment and racist threats by claiming they were involved in voter fraud. Stop listening to ‘sources’ and highly paid television hosts like Bannon and Carlson who rarely venture outside their mansions and studios.
Names matter. Facts matter. Trump is a traitor.
Common Sense says
It is unbelievable ANYONE would question her testimony.
The committee is composed of many highly qualified lawyers.
NEVER ASK A QUESTION THAT YOU DON’T ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER TO.
Her testimony is truthful.
More to come Trumpanzees.
Laurel says
Dale L: You are correct. Thank you.
Laurel says
Dude: “Puerto Rico is surrounded by water, big water.” Donald J Trump, alpha male. Tanned balls (or maybe spray tan).
I feel for you!
SaltySands says
Jackie Kennedy didn’t trust them way back then.
No Political Affiliation says
All the people testifying against trump and his conspirators are doing so under oath. All the people speaking FOR trump refuse to testify under oath or just plead the 5th when they get subpoenaed. Curious.
Aaron says
So that maybe this time you guys don’t vote for a delusional megalomaniac .
Sherry says
@ NPA. . . Right On! . . . what you have pointed out is more than curious, it’s extremely “Revealing”! Especially since several in trump’s inner circle begged for trump PARDONS !
If trump, and his cohorts, did nothing wrong. . .
1. Why Not Testify Under Oath?
2. Why Plead the Fifth, Like a Criminal?
3. Why Ask for a PARDON, Like a Criminal?
Those who are not watching the “Jan. 6th Commission Hearings” are intentionally “ducking the truth”, and have nothing “credible” to say on the subject!
Sherry says
All the people who say trump is “Guilty” have “Testified Under Oath”!
All the people who say trump is “Innocent” REFUSE to “Testify Under Oath”!
Gary R says
Engel, the agent who was driving the presidential SUV, and Trump security official Tony Ornato are willing to testify under oath that no agent was assaulted and Trump never lunged for the steering wheel, sources confirmed to NewsNation and the Associated Press. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity. It is unknown when the agents will testify.
Who are these people who refuse to testify? FACTS ONLY, not CNN and MSNBC propaganda, not left wingnuts.
FlaPharmTech says
Thank you!!!
Ray W. says
It strikes me that one obvious point that hasn’t been raised in these comments involves population growth. If the United States enjoys population growth of approximately 3 million people per year (it does), a significant number of Americans reach voting age each year. Others become naturalized citizens after they reach the age of 18. Given the choices of Republican, Democrat or Independent, I suppose it can be argued that the Republican party ranks should be expected to grow by a million or so every year, regardless of who leads the party or what might motivate Democrats or Independents to change parties. On the other hand, a curious person has to wonder why the number of true conservatives keeps plummeting over the last decade or so. True conservatives, in the tradition of the Glorious Revolution, insist on the primacy of the legislative over the executive. As Melancton Smith prophesied during New York’s ratification process, one perceived flaw in the language of the Constitution was that it raised the possibility that a “demagogue” who was “destitute of principle” might be able to persuade members of the working class to form an association supporting the demagogue, and that such a person would most likely come from the wealthy class, although he also thought it possible that the demagogue might come from the military, legal or government class. True conservatives abhor and resist demagogues; they don’t put them into executive offices.
David Schaefer says
tRUMP you are a washed up useless POS do the American people a favor and crawl under the asshole from which you came from and take Mark Meadows, Rudy, Ted Cruz , Johnson and the rest of those stupid republicans with you….
G A says
I will believe it when I see it. Both SS agents are major trumpers. Ornato was the one that tried to force VP Pence into the car and take him away from DC. Thank God Pence had sense enough to know it wouldn’t end well and he refused. So I truly DO hope they testify…then they can get hit with perjury. Now, that’s a real popcorn moment. Oh..you don’t think so? The Jan 6 committee didn’t come down with yesterday’s rain…they know exactly what they are doing. Exactly. Bring it!
Flatsflyer says
Too late to get grabbed, maybe Junior follows his father’s lead,,try him for change if you are that desperate.
joshua guyette says
Donald J. Trump 2024. Let’s take our Country Back From these Assholes!
Sherry says
@ gr. . . Really? It’s not my job to educate you! You are the epitome of the “lazy” non thinking FOX watcher that Roger Ails targeted for his “propaganda/brainwashing” network!
It took me 2 minutes to find:
Guiliani
Navarro
Meadows
Scavino
Bannon
Perry
Jordon
Brooks
Biggs
and, I’m sure there are several others. Turn your brain back on and seek the “factual truth” if you desire any credibility at all!
Laurel says
Gary R: If they testify that the President of the United States did not attack them, verbally or otherwise, as Secret Service agents, they immediately lose their jobs. In the whole, big picture, I’m not even sure why this was brought up being that it is hearsay, though it’s not a trial. We know that Trump is a raging baby, nothing new there. Regardless, this small tidbit does not wipe out all the other Republican testimony in this hearing. Not close.
Since you asked, some of the people who have been asked, or subpoenaed to testify and have not done so, so far, are Donald Trump, Rudy Guiliani, Ginni Thomas, Mark Meadows, Steven Bannon, Roger Stone, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, John Eastman, Steven Miller, Kayleigh McEnany, Peter Navarro, Keven McCarthy, Jim Jordon and many, many others. All in all, nearly 90 subpoenas have been handed out. Maybe others will testify, who knows? Wouldn’t you want to clear your name? I would think that 90, or so, Republicans testifying could turn this hearing around, wouldn’t you? Won’t happen, and you know why. They are a scared group of people.
Laurel says
If the SS men testify that Trump DID attack them, they lose their jobs.
Laurel says
joshua guyette: Aren’t those head squeezing blinders a bit too tight? You prefer a Hitler character calling his armed minions to raid the capital of the U.S. government and overturn the election? It’s okay he thought hanging Pence was a good idea? It’s okay to praise (temporarily) his loyalists and ruin those who disagree with him? He should pardon those who supported him (why would they need pardons if it was all up and up?)? You somehow feel you could survive this dictator?
Do you know what a narcissistic sociopath is? Do you know what a grifter is? Seriously, is it that you don’t see, or is it that you don’t care? I really want to know the answers to all these questions because Trump was the worst, nastiest, most vindictive, corrupt and dangerous President we’ve ever had. Do you not remember his incredibly absurd speeches? He wasn’t talking about positive movement forward, he would whine and cry and belittle people constantly. He called them names, the way an unsophisticated child would. It was always, always about him. He was extremely manipulative, and not terribly bright.
DeSantis is using the same methods. Vindictive.
Like it or not, Trump lost. He would lose again if he were to run. Of course again he would claim it impossible, and of course again you would believe him. Very strange, the mind.
Sherry says
Perfect Laurel! Well Done, and Right On!
Sherry says
@jg. . . what a pathetic comment! What? NO intelligent thought? NO wisdom to impart? NO facts to share?
Just “HATE FILLED” name calling! Which, by the way, tells us so much about you. How terrible for you that you have so much self loathing. . . that all you can do is grunt like a lowly animal.