Ex-President Donald Trump recently offered robust critiques of former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney and the Select Committee on January 6, which also included Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). This scrutiny comes in the wake of a revived House probe into the January 6 incidents, specifically scrutinizing possible omissions or inaccuracies by the previously disbanded and vilified January 6 committee formed by Democrat appointees. With this backdrop, Trump gave a forthright new statement on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s declaration was a response to a Just the News report suggesting that Cheney was personally present at the deposition of a Secret Service agent. The agent offered a direct account of the sequence of events, involving Trump departing the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally in a limousine on January 6th. Rather than proceeding to the Capitol, as pledged to his followers, the vehicle carried Trump back to the White House.
The account was further complicated when Cassidy Hutchinson, an erstwhile White House staffer, gave her deposition before the House January 6 select committee at Cheney’s request. Her testimony involved an audacious anecdote about Trump allegedly striving to grab control of the presidential limousine’s steering wheel from the back seat. Reportedly, Hutchinson gleaned this account from overheard Secret Service agents conversations.
The narrative released by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who chairs the House Administration subcommittee for the January 6 investigation, highlighted a crucial miscorrelation. The agent who drove the vehicle offered testimony that contradicts the version of events narrated by Hutchinson. He emphatically denied the allegation of Trump trying to interfere with control of the vehicle.
Relaying an account that rebutted Hutchinson’s, the agent asserted, ‘He never commandeered the wheel. I didn’t witness him leap forward in an effort to occupy the front seat.’ Despite these contradicting statements, Hutchinson’s testimony was allowed into the record, even if it was widely accepted as second-hand knowledge, which typically isn’t allowed in legal proceedings as evidence.
Nevertheless, the controversial testimony was incorporated by Democrats and two members with noted reservations on Trump, Cheney, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. Both ended their terms of office prematurely, coinciding the halt of the committee’s activities as Republicans claimed back the majority in the House.
Earlier this month, Trump voiced a sense of vindication, following the Congress revealing new evidence that debunks two compelling allegations by Democrats during the course of the January 6 investigation. These included not only the contentious narrative given by Hutchinson regarding the Secret Service incident but also the contrary claim that he never suggested calling for National Guard reinforcements prior to the fateful event.
In a conversation with Just the News, emphatic Trump clarified, ‘These were fabricated narratives.’ Providing context to these allegations, House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, under the chairmanship of Rep. Loudermilk, unleashed transcripts and supplementary proof in an interim report, hinting that the Democrat-led House Select Committee on January 6 kept crucial counter-evidence from the public.
Refuting the allegations, Trump shared with John Solomon from Just the News, ‘The accusation is preposterous and completely lacks credibility that I would wrestle with these young, stout men.’ He further explained that the presidential SUV design wouldn’t even have allowed such an occurrence, given the protective barriers segregating the driver’s seat.
‘It’s impractical given the physical barriers – steel and other material – in the vehicle between the driver and the back seat. Furthermore, it just defies logic – such accounts are fanciful constructs. Yet they received extreme media attention,’ he stated.
On the matter of his intended visit to the Capitol Building following his speech at the Ellipse, Trump did affirm it, but also accounted the Secret Service’s advice against it. They explained that they were not prepared to ensure security for a visit to the Capitol, as reported by Just the News.
Recounting the sequence of events, Trump stated, ‘I suggested, perhaps, we should head to the Capitol. The Secret Service, very courteously, prompted that it would be more prudent to return to the White House – citing security inadequacies at the Capitol. I understood their stance, and it didn’t invite any dispute.’
Trump Says Liz Cheney and the Whole January 6th Committee Should Be Sent to Jail appeared first on Real News Now.
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