Washignton, EE.UU.
A former White House official told the legislative investigative committee into the Capitol attack that Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had received intelligence reports indicating the possibility of violence, according to transcripts only released to reporters. know.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a White House special aide, told the House committee that “concerns were raised” with Meadows before the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Capitol Hill, but it was unclear what Meadows did with that information.
“I remember Mr. Ornato coming in and saying we had intelligence reports that there might be violence on the 6th,” Hutchinson said, presumably referring to Anthony Ornato, a senior agent with the Secret Service, the agency that protects the president. “And Mr. Meadows said, ‘Okay, let’s talk regarding this.'”
Hutchinson’s testimony makes it unclear what Meadows was told. Although the police had prepared for possible violence on January 6, the leadership did not adequately consider the possibility of a violent mob attacking the Capitol.
The documents released Friday night are the latest in a long legal fight over how far Meadows — whose proximity to Trump makes him a crucial target of Democratic lawmakers — can be compelled to cooperate with the investigation. Meadows has delivered thousands of text messages but has refused to testify, saying his position in the White House gives him immunity and has sued the commission.
The commission is seeking a ruling that Meadows does not have a valid basis for refusing to testify. He says the commission has focused its request on seven specific issues, including communication with Congress before Jan. 6, 2021, White House plans to replace the attorney general to advance Trump’s false claims of voter fraud and efforts to create alternate or false lists of state voters that might alter the outcome of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The commission released excerpts from the statements of various witnesses, Hutchinson among them. In addition to mentioning the warnings of possible violence, Hutchinson revealed that White House legal counsel, in meetings with Meadows and Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, warned regarding the inconvenience of recruiting fake voters in the states.
