‘Unhinged’ White House Is Described to January 6 Committee

The January 6 committee, nearing its final chapter, conceded on Tuesday afternoon none of its power to surprise. This installment, which focused on the role of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the events of that day in 2021, was centered on the testimony of two one-time militants, now penitents who appeared before the committee to make amends.In the hearing’s final moments, Representative Elizabeth Cheney alleged that President Trump himself had phoned a witness, yet to appear, to dissuade him from testifying. That call was not answered, and instead referred to the committee, which in turn passed it onto the Justice Department.The committee contended that a tweet issued by President Trump on December 19, 2020, nearly three weeks before the attack on the Capitol, was the match that lit the fuse. That missive read, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”A one-time supporter of Mr. Trump who appeared before the committee, Stephen Ayres, testified that on the fateful day, “I was hanging on every word” the president was saying, and that Mr. Trump’s “Stop the Steal” speech was what launched him toward the Capitol. He has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor stemming from participating in the riot.In eliciting Mr. Ayres’s testimony that “we basically were just following” what Mr. Trump asked, the committee sought to tighten the nexus between the mob and the man in the White House. After his testimony, Mr. Ayres sought out Capitol Hill police officers who came under attack on January 6, and hugged them. The connection between the president and the riot was further spotlighted by the disclosure of a draft tweet from Mr. Trump, never sent, that read, “Making a big speech at 10:00 A.M. January 6 south of the White House. Please arrive early. Massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!”Other text messages released by the committee suggested that these inchoate plans for Mr. Trump to lead a group to the Capitol envisioned a second stage to be set up near the Supreme Court, from which Mr. Trump would engage further with the crowd after the initial address at the Oval. The deposition of a White House photographer, Shealah Craighead, included the memory of Mr. Trump exclaiming on January 5, “We should go up to the Capitol. What’s the best route to the Capitol?” Ultimately, such a journey was not undertaken. Another plan that did not come to fruition was hashed out in a Oval Office meeting on December 18 with the national security advisor, Michael Flynn; the White House counsel, Pasquale “Pat” Cipollone; a lawyer advising Mr. Trump, Sidney Powell; and others. The discussion centered on a plan to appoint Ms. Powell special counsel and to launch a federal effort to seize state voting machines. A one-time White House staff secretary, Michael Lyons, recalled of the meeting’s tenor: “At times, there were people shouting at each other, hurling insults at each other. It wasn’t just people sitting around on a couch chit chatting.”The plans to appoint Ms. Powell counsel and confiscate the voting apparatuses was strongly opposed by Mr. Cipollone, and ultimately rejected by Mr. Trump. A White House staffer, who herself testified at a previous hearing, Cassidy Hutchinson, described the atmosphere as “unhinged” in a text message at the time. The hearing concluded with the disclosure from Mrs. Cheney regarding President Trump’s phone call to an unnamed witness, and a further warning that the committee would “take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously.”NBC News reports that the next hearing, which could be the last, will commence on July 21, in primetime. A one-time adviser to the president, Steven Bannon, has yet to testify, and could be on the agenda. In respect of next week, Mrs. Cheney said, “We will walk through the events of January 6, next week, minute-by minute.”

‘Unhinged’ White House Is Described to January 6 Committee

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