By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington [US], June 29 : The House committee investigating the January 6 attack at the Capitol held on Tuesday its sixth public hearing, unveiling allegations about what former President Donald Trump was doing during and after the violence broke out.
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, offered an explosive testimony that former President Trump wanted to get to the Capitol on January 6, 2021 - even grabbing the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle and lunging at his head of security when he was told he could not go, she also said that Trump knew his supporters had weapons on January 6 and didn't care.
Trump was also told that the crowd at his rally at the Ellipse ahead of the Capitol riot had guns and other weapons, Hutchinson said. She testified that Trump said "something to the effect of, 'I don't 'effing' care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in. They can march the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the effing mags away."
Hutchinson further revealed how angry Trump was after Attorney General Bill Barr told the Associated Press in an interview after the 2020 election that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change its outcome.
Entering the dining room at the White House, Hutchinson observed a valet changing the tablecloth. The valet motioned toward the fireplace mantle and television, she said.
"I first noticed there was ketchup dripping down the wall and there was a shattered porcelain plate on the floor," she told the committee. "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 then grabbed a towel to assist and recalled the valet told her about Trump, "he's really ticked off about this. I would stay clear of him for right now."
Hutchinson, who sat doors away from Trump's Oval Office, testified that just days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Meadows knew of the looming violence that could unfold.
The House of Representatives committee for more than a year has been investigating the first attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in U.S. history.
On January 6, 2021, thousands of individuals -- mostly Trump's supporters -- stormed the Capitol in Washington, DC and disrupted a joint session of Congress in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results.
Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted in the Capitol attack, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Authorities have linked five deaths to the mayhem. Four officers who responded to the attack reportedly committed suicide within the next several months.