January 6 Hearings: Former Aide Says Donald Trump Tried to Join the Crowd, Grab the Steering Wheel From Secret Service Agent

The congressional hearings surrounding the events of the January 6 Capitol Insurrection continues, with the panel hearing from former president Donald Trump's former aide, Cassidy Hutchinson.

She told investigators during Tuesday's hearing that Trump was warned that some of his supporters were armed. However, Trump dismissed this and said that the protesters were not there to hurt him.

The 25-year-old former Trump aide also testified that security officials explicitly told Trump that it was not safe to go to the Capitol. However, Trump insisted that he wanted to join the crowd, which would soon turn violent and try to take the Capitol by force.

Aide Says Donald Trump Tried Reaching for Steering Wheel

Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony also revealed that Trump was so adamant about joining the crowd that it led to an altercation between him and his security detail of secret service agents. According to the former White House aide, she was told of the incident immediately after it happened. The head of Trump's security detail, Bobby Engel, was with Trump inside the presidential SUV, dubbed "The Beast," and corroborated the story.

According to the Associated Press, Hutchinson stated that Trump tried grabbing the steering wheel from the secret service agent driving "The Beast." Engel would then grab Trump's arm to prevent the former president if gaining control of the armored vehicle. Trump also tried to lunge at Engel using his free hand.

Chaos in the White House as Insurrectionists Breached the Capitol, but Trump Was Unconcerned

The former aide also corroborated the previous testimony by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that there was chaos within the White House on January 6, when Trump supporters overran police and took over the Capitol. Hutchinson also testified that Trump was not concerned at all about the violence unfolding, even as his supporters began chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"

In her testimony, Hutchinson talked about a conversation between Meadows and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone as the pro-Trump rioters entered the Capitol. According to Hutchinson, Meadows said that Trump thought that Mike Pence "deserved it." This is in reference to Trump's frustrations with his vice president refusing to break the law for him and overturn the elections.

CNN reports that Cipollone rushed into Meadows' office on the day of January 6 and warned the Trump Chief of Staff that people were going to die and that their blood was going to be in Meadows' hands. 5 people died immediately on the day of January 6, 2021, including one police officer.

Hutchinson's testimony also revealed that on January 7th, Trump was forced to do a speech to acknowledge that Joe Biden would be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. He did so because there was growing concern among his cabinet and Mike Pence regarding the failed coup attempt. This led to the cabinet talking about invoking the 25th amendment and kicking him out of power. However, this was only the secondary reason why trump delivered the speech, according to Hutchinson. The biggest reason was that he needed to condemn the violent attack to prevent it from affecting his legacy. However, Trump still did not want to call for his supporters to be prosecuted, nor did he want to call their actions "violent."

The committee would then ask Hutchinson what her real-time reaction was as the insurrection happened. She says that she felt frustrated and disappointed as a staffer. She also added that as an American, she felt that the rioters were unpatriotic. The former Trump aide would also call Trump's behavior on January 6 "unpatriotic" and "un-American."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Former aide: Trump tried to grab car's steering wheel to go to Capitol Hill - Guardian News