- House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy warned WH to not letTrump come to the US Capitol on Jan 6. - McCarthy called several
White House staffers inquiring on if Trump was going to come.
A former White House aide testified that Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called White House advisors on January 6, warning that the former president should not come to the US Capitol.
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection that she received a call from McCarthy on January 6 following the speech Trump gave on the Ellipse that day.
Hutchinson recalled that McCarthy was frustrated with her and believed she lied to him when she told him Trump did not plan to go to the US Capitol building after the January 6 rally.
"Well, he just said it on stage, Cassidy. Figure it out. Don't come up here," she testified he said in the call.
Hutchinson later confirmed with White House official Tony Ornato that Trump was not going up to Capitol Hill and then called McCarthy to tell him that.
Hutchinson's remarks come after she told the committee about Trump's determination to go to the US Capitol with his supporters as Congress was certifying the election results. At one point, she testified that the former president lunged at his driver and tried to grab the steering wheel as he demanded to be taken to the Capitol on January 6.
The former aide also told the committee that Meadows and Trump were informed that there were armed people in the crowd on January 6. Hutchinson said that the president was unconcerned because he believed the armed people supported him.
This is the sixth hearing the House select committee is holding to reveal its findings of what took place during the January 6 insurrection and how Trump was directly involved in overturning the 2020 presidential election.