"Trump Attempted to Seize Steering Wheel During January 6 Incident," Testimony from Former White House Staff

White House Staff Testify at Hearing... Trump Denies "Fake Stories, Fraud"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Testimony from a former White House staff member revealed that former President Donald Trump was violent and uncontrollable as he headed to the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th insurrection by his ardent supporters last year.

According to Bloomberg News on the 28th (local time), Cassidy Hutchinson, a key aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, appeared at a public hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot and stated that despite testimony about the rioters being armed, former President Trump tried to seize the steering wheel to drive to the Capitol himself.

She explained that when the Attorney General did not support claims of election fraud, former President Trump threw a lunch plate against the wall, breaking it, and ignored requests to refrain from giving a rally speech on January 6th before the riot occurred. She also said that although the Secret Service judged it was dangerous to head to the Capitol, former President Trump was very angry and insisted on going to Congress.

According to the testimony, former President Trump said, "I am the president. Take me to the Capitol now," and tried to grab the steering wheel himself. Robert Engel, the head of security, grabbed the president's arm to stop him and said, "You need to take your hands off the wheel. We are going back to the West Wing." He also recalled that former President Trump lunged at him as if to grab his neck.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Hutchinson explained that former President Trump was also angry that the Secret Service used metal detectors near the White House while he was giving a speech that day. During his election fraud speech that morning, Trump reportedly said, "I don't care that they are armed," and "They are not here to hurt me." Hutchinson cited sources saying he also ordered, "Get rid of that damn detector," and "Let my people in and march to the Capitol."

Hutchinson further revealed that former President Trump supported his supporters’ calls to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session of Congress certifying the election results, and threatened him at the time.

When there were calls for direct action against the rioters threatening former Vice President Pence, then-Chief of Staff Meadows reportedly said, "Former President Trump thinks the vice president deserves that. He believes they did nothing wrong."

After the hearing, former President Trump denied the claims on his social media platform Truth Social, saying, "Her fake story that I tried to snatch the steering wheel of the White House limousine to go to the Capitol is a fraud," and "I could never do such a ridiculous thing." He also added, "The people with guns did not ask me to make space to see my speech."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.