The House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol reportedly did not even reach out to the Secret Service prior to ‘bombshell’ testimony by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who claimed Donald Trump lunged at one of their agents and fought to take control of the presidential limo that day.
As The Political Insider reported Wednesday, Hutchinson shockingly testified that Trump was so desperate to go to the Capitol during the riot that he lunged for the steering wheel of the limo.
She also made allegations that the former President, using his free hand, tried to assault the head of his Secret Service detail, Bobby Engel.
Cassidy Hutchinson says President Trump lunged for his limo’s steering wheel after he was told he wasn’t being taken to the Capitol. “The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.’” pic.twitter.com/vNwPIgxQdZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 28, 2022
Skeptics almost immediately spoke up as to the validity of her claims, including Engel and White House aide Tony Ornato, who according to multiple reports expressed interest in testifying under oath that these things didn’t happen.
Ornato allegedly told Hutchinson the story she was now relaying.
Hutchinson’s testimony also included a portion where she claimed a note contained her handwriting – another allegation that was reportedly refuted in prior interviews by the committee with former Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann.
It’s impossible to overstate the damage that Hutchinson’s testimony did to the legitimacy of the @January6thCmte.
The media was trying desperately to take them seriously.
And in the matter of a few hours, their ‘bombshell’ witness caused everything to blow up in their face. https://t.co/gUu8Bgtywm
— Rusty 🎙️ (@rustyweiss74) June 29, 2022
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RELATED: Key Portions Of ‘Bombshell’ January 6 Testimony About Trump Under Heavy Scrutiny
Secret Service Says January 6 Committee Never Asked Them About the Story
Making matters worse for the January 6 committee, despite insisting they did their “diligence” regarding Hutchinson’s testimony, the Secret Service has stated they were not even contacted about the claims prior to the explosive public hearing.
Politico reports that Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi told them “that select committee investigators did not ask Secret Service personnel to reappear or answer questions in writing in the 10 days before asking Hutchinson about the matter at the hearing.”
New: USSS Spox Anthony Guglielmi tells me that in the 10 days before the Hutchinson hearing, the Jan. 6 committee did not reach out for more details regarding the Beast ride.
Story TK
— Betsy Woodruff Swan (@woodruffbets) June 29, 2022
Politico adds that “the committee’s lack of outreach in the days before Hutchinson’s hearing is notable because the Secret Service has said Jan. 6 investigators can access any documents or witnesses they deem relevant.”
But they chose not to and allowed Hutchinson to testify about a story that was hearsay even if it checked out, but has now become a debacle and tarnished her credibility with the Secret Service agents saying they’d be more than willing to testify that the limo incident never happened.
“It’s not clear why the select panel didn’t seek further corroboration from the Secret Service as it planned Hutchinson’s hearing,” Politico adds.
Is it really not clear? Or is it perfectly clear?
🚨🚨🚨
So the J6 Committee rushed an “emergency hearing” and ran with Hutchinson’s fairy tale, without even ATTEMPTING to verify whether it was true or not.
It’s almost like these dishonest frauds are more interested in “getting Trump,” than getting the truth!!! https://t.co/VvPtlsXw6l
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 29, 2022
RELATED: Politico Reporter: Two Democrat Lawmakers Privately Admit ‘Nobody Gives A Bleep About January 6’
Any Credibility Hutchinson and the Committee May Have Had is Gone
As skepticism was percolating over Hutchinson’s testimony and multiple people involved were stating they’d refute the allegations under oath, the House select committee doubled down.
Regarding the handwritten note that Herschmann insists is in his handwriting, not Hutchinson’s, the committee affirmed their belief that their witness’s testimony was accurate.
“The committee has done its diligence on this and found Ms. Hutchinson’s account of this matter credible,” they said in a statement.
But, based on the Secret Service account, it’s clear they didn’t do their diligence. And, perhaps far worse, they intentionally left out testimony from those who could contradict Hutchinson’s claims.
Had they presented both sides of the story – like an actual non-partisan panel would – they could have maintained credibility. Instead, Hutchinson’s appearance before the January 6 committee and the subsequent denials by the Secret Service make it look like a circus.
The January 6th committee put on a “bombshell” witness to testify about hearsay comments without even asking the secret service agents who were actually in the vehicle for their side of the story. This is shameful. If a lawyer tried this in court they would be held in contempt. https://t.co/Fs77tQyz64
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 29, 2022
As The Political Insider has reported, the House select committee already had a major credibility problem.
The makeup of the panel makes them a clearly partisan group of anti-Trump lawmakers. The committee has been caught ‘doctoring‘ text messages. And they’ve pursued conspiracy theories ultimately disproven by the Capitol police themselves.
Are these amateurish mistakes, or are they malicious attempts to set the narrative? Remember the words of Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the select committee.
“We want to paint a picture as clear as possible as to what occurred,” Thompson (D-MS) told reporters of the public hearings. “The public needs to know what to think.”
Jan. 6 Chairman‘The Public Needs to Know What to Think’ https://t.co/Jd3QRdngLa via @TPInsidr The combined IQ’s of these Sea Slugs couldn’t power a two D-battery flashlight. Have you ever heard Chairman Bennie Thompson speak? He ‘almost’ makes Maxine Waters sound like Plato.
— Gabriel O’Toole-“Cogito, ergo sum” (@TooleGabriel) May 23, 2022
While the committee chair believes “the public needs to know what to think,” Politico correspondent Betsy Woodruff Swan revealed at least two Democrat lawmakers speaking with her privately have admitted: “Nobody gives a bleep about January 6.”
“I have talked with two separate Democratic members of Congress in the last couple of weeks about January 6th … Both of them have said, offhandedly, ‘Nobody gives a bleep about January 6th.” – Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan pic.twitter.com/NdMTfNcu1V
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) June 23, 2022
Do the partisan January 6 witchhunt participants believe more people are going to ‘give a bleep’ if they keep parading witnesses who relay questionable stories? Or if it’s clear they’re not presenting both sides of the story as in the case of the Secret Service?
The sham needs to end.
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