Ex-White House Aide From NJ Says Trump Attacked Agent On Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — Before this week, New Jersey native Cassidy Hutchinson wasn't well-known outside of Washington's orbit. But the former White House aide provided explosive testimony to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol about former President Donald Trump's alleged actions leading up to the riot.

The Pennington native claimed President Trump rebuffed his own security's warnings and made desperate attempts to join his supporters as they marched on the Capitol. President Trump tried to let armed protesters avoid security screenings, saying "they're not here to hurt me," Hutchinson told the panel.

The ex-President planned to go to the Capitol with the mob after the "Stop the Steal" rally in which he purported false claims that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election, Hutchinson said. The ex-aide testified that then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato told her that President Trump got into the presidential SUV after his rally and wanted to be driven to his supporters.

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When Secret Service agent Robert Engel told him it was too dangerous, Hutchinson claimed Ornato told her that President Trump became irate. Engel grabbed President Trump's arm to prevent him from gaining control of the vehicle, and the former president used his free hand to lunge at Engel's clavicles, Hutchinson was told.

Ornato is willing to testify under oath that President Trump never lunged at the steering wheel or assaulted an agent, an anonymous source told the Associated Press. Trump dismissed Hutchinson's claims on his platform, Truth Social.

According to Hutchinson, when the Jan. 6 crowd changed "Hang Mike Pence," then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told aides that Trump "thinks Mike deserves it." The president tweeted during the attack that his vice president didn't have the courage to object to Joe Biden's win as he presided over a joint Congressional election to certify Biden's presidential victory.

Hutchinson also testified that President Trump threw his lunch plate against a wall in the White House dining room on Dec. 1, 2020, after learning that then-Attorney General William Barr publicly said there was no evidence of election fraud.

Both Meadows and Rudy Giuliani — Trump's lawyer — sought presidential pardons related to the Jan. 6 attack, Hutchinson testified.

Hutchinson graduated from Pennington's Hopewell Valley Central High School in 2015 and has since worked under several Republican politicians. The Mercer County native interned for Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the House minority whip. Hutchinson became an intern for the White House Office of Legislative Affairs in the summer of 2018, according to a profile from her alma mater, Christopher Newport University.

She went on to serve as a White House aide and assistant to Meadows. Hutchinson previously provided information for the Jan. 6 panel, sitting for four interviews behind closed doors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.