Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows towards the end of Donald Trump's presidential tenure, is the witness that might have given a brand new momentum to the Select Committee investigating the former president's role in the violence.
The events of last night led presidential historian Michael Beschloss to remark to MSNBC that "never before in American history have we ever seen credible testimony this shocking against a president of the United States before Congress. This is a day that is going to loom very large in American history."
Here are some of the most damning things that Hutchinson revealed during her testinomy.
'Trump Knew There Would Be Violence, He Did Not Care'
The then-deputy White House chief of staff Tony Ornato had told Trump on the morning of the riot that the mob was armed with weapons.
The president did not care.
"I don't [expletive] care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me," Hutchinson heard Trump say when told about the armed mob marching to the capitol, according to her testimony.
"Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here."
She added that despite knowing that his supporters were armed, Trump wanted the Capitol security to stop their screening with metal-detecting magnetometers.
Hutchinson even went on to say that Trump's own chief of staff had acknowledged the threat of violence leading up to the day, saying, "There's a lot going on, Cass, but I don’t know. Things might get real, real bad on January 6."
While Trump was angry about the situation on the day, Meadows, despite the aforementioned acknowledgment, seemed indifferent and argued that the White House should focus on putting the blame on on Antifa or other left-wing organisations.
On the other hand, Trump's daughter, Ivanka, begged him to condemn the violence and send the rioters home.
And in another shocking revelation, when Trump was told that the rioters were chanting "hang Mike Pence", the former said that the vice president "deserved" it.
Trump was also told about potential criminal charges but he completely ignored those warnings. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone told Hutchinson, "We need to make sure this doesn’t happen. We have serious legal concerns. We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable."
In a series of posts on his app, Truth Social, the former president denied everything that Hutchinson said during her testimony.
The House Judiciary Committee Republicans tweeted in response to Hutchinson’s testimony, saying that it was "literally all hearsay evidence."
Trump's Unhinged Behaviour on 6 Jan
Hutchinson's testimony revealed the extent to which Trump was raging over the events of 6 January, that is, the refusal of Pence and other Republicans to delay in the Senate the certification of Biden's victory.
"There's ketchup dripping down the wall and there’s a shattered porcelain plate on the floor," Hutchinson recalled as she explained how Trump threw his lunch at the wall in anger.
The catalyst for this outburst was Attorney General William Barr's interview with the Associated Press in which he had clearly stated that the Justice Department had "not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election."
"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." Hutchinson added.
One of the main reasons for Trump's meltdown was that his security team was refusing to take him to the Capitol.
"I'm the effing president. Take me to the Capitol now," Hutchinson heard him say. She also testified that the former president had lunged at the Secret Service agent who was refusing to take him, and also tried to grab from him the steering wheel of his vehicle.
Secret Service officials, however, who requested anonymity, said that the head of Trump's security, and the driver of his vehicle were prepared to testify under oath that the former president neither lunged at the agent, nor at the wheel.
Giuliani and Meadows Also Sought Pardon
During the fifth hearing, it was revealed that least five congressional Republicans – Representatives Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz (apparently "since early December"), Louie Gohmert, and Scott Perry – had sought pardons from the president.
And during the third hearing, it was revealed that pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman, whose actions you can read about here, was also asked to be put on the pardons list.
Hutchinson testified that she had indeed engaged in conversations about pardon requests from the five aforementioned Republicans in Congress, and then went on to confirm two more names on the list – Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.
Finally, Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the House Commitee revealed that former colleagues in Trump's circle of aids had intimidated witnesses.
One witness reported to the committee Trump "wants me to let you know he’s thinking about you."
Another one said, "They reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts, and just keep that in mind."
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