U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, said he found former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to be a “100% credible witness,” and encouraged anyone who disagrees with her to also testify under oath.
“Ms. Hutchinson testified under oath in front of millions of people,” Raskin said. “All we’ve heard is some anonymously sourced reports that someone disagrees with that. We encourage anybody who’s got any evidence that’s relevant to our investigation to come forward and testify under oath.”
Raskin made the remarks in an interview with CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane Wednesday, the day after Hutchinson testified that former President Donald Trump was aware some of his supporters were armed near the Ellipse that day, and wanted metal detectors taken away in spite of that. Hutchinson also testified that she was told by top Secret Service agent Anthony Ornato that the president tried to take the steering wheel, and that he lunged at the head of his Secret Service detail, Bobby Engel, when his request to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6 was denied.
A source close to the Secret Service told CBS News that Engel and the driver are prepared to testify under oath that neither man was physically attacked or assaulted by Trump, and that the former president never lunged for the steering wheel of the vehicle.
Hutchinson’s lawyer on Wednesday said Hutchinson “stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday.” Raskin on Wednesday said he has heard nothing that contradicts Hutchinson’s testimony.
Raskin said the majority of things Hutchinson told the committee “have not been challenged at all.”
“For example, the truly important and central assertions have not been challenged in any way,” Raskin told CBS News. “When she told us that Donald Trump was aware that there were people armed – and he was frustrated that they were being kept out of the main crowd of his rally by virtue of the metal detectors – and he wanted the metal detectors out so his people could get in, and he wasn’t afraid of these people because they weren’t going to hurt him — that’s an extraordinary revelation, and they’re not even bothering to challenge that or anything else she said.”
The committee is expected to continue hearings in July.
“All I can say is, I found her to be an utterly believable, incredible witness,” Raskin continued. “It’s possible that the story that she repeated, you know, may have some flaws according to somebody else’s interpretation, who knows. But that’s what the investigative process is about. I mean, we’re not in a court of law where we’re trying to prove all of these facts. We’re trying to bring all of the witnesses in so the whole country can hear together, and we can all make a judgment. But I’ve found her to be a 100% credible witness.”
