Cassidy Hutchinson Testifies Trump Lunged at Secret Service to Join Mob — Jan 6 Hearing

Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, delivers explosive testimony before the January 6 committee. She testifies that Trump lunged across the back seat of the presidential limousine, grabbing the steering wheel and trying to drive to the Capitol on Jan 6.

The Secret Service agents in the vehicle — Bobby Engel and Tony Ornato — later denied this account. Engel said the first time he heard the story was when Hutchinson testified in the prime-time hearing. Special Counsel Smith's office acknowledged in congressional testimony that they interviewed a first-hand witness in the vehicle who "did not confirm that that had happened." Smith also acknowledged that "a number of the things that she gave evidence on were secondhand hearsay" and that regarding the lunging claim specifically, she was "a second or even third-hand witness."

Despite the dispute over this specific detail, Hutchinson's broader testimony about Trump's knowledge and intent on Jan 6 — including that Trump wanted to march to the Capitol despite Secret Service refusal — remained central to the evidentiary record. The video testimony of White House Counsel Pat Cipollone corroborated key aspects of her account, including that Trump was told rioters were chanting "Hang Mike Pence" and responded that "maybe Mike deserves it."