“Let the People In” – The New York Times

How much did President Donald Trump and his top advisers know about the potential for violence before the January 6 attack? Until the last few weeks, the answer to that question has been unclear.

But the January 6 committee hearings dispelled much of the doubt: Trump and his associates knew that the rally he held near the White House that day was likely to escalate into an attack on the Capitol.

Yesterday, testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson – a former assistant to the White House chief of staff – provided the clearest evidence yet that Trump knew violence was possible. He learned early on Jan. 6 that some rallyers were armed but wanted security to let them in, Hutchinson said. “They are not here to hurt me,” she recalled saying.

Hutchinson also said yesterday:

  • Mark Meadows, then Trump’s chief of staff and Hutchinson’s boss, told her on January 2 that “things could get real on January 6, very badly.”

  • The White House knew that the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a recent history of political violence, planned to be in Washington on January 6th. Hutchinson heard the group discuss before Trump’s rally, when Rudy Giuliani was present, and Giuliani said on January 2 that January 6 would be “a wonderful day.”

  • Tony Ornato, another aide, told Meadows and Trump before the attack that some Trump supporters came to hear his speech outside the White House, armed with knives, bear spray and other weapons.

  • Trump wanted the Secret Service to admit armed supporters to his rally. “Take away the f-ing magazines,” Hutchinson heard Trump say, referring to the magnetometers used to monitor participants. “They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. ”

  • Trump wanted to join the protesters at the Capitol after his speech. After learning that he would rather be driven back to the White House, Hutchinson testified, Trump swore at his security detail and tried to snatch the steering wheel from his driver. Trump denied the story yesterday and Secret Service officials said agents would testify that he did not grab the wheel.

(Here’s a timeline of Hutchinson’s January 6 version, featuring videos of her testimony.)

Most of Hutchinson’s testimony, which was under oath, referred to conversations she witnessed or to events that other Trump assistants described to her. “Hutchinson joins the series of explosive witnesses to appear at congressional hearings,” Carl Hulse of The Times wrote, comparing her to Oliver North, who testified about the Iran counter-scandal, and John Dean, who testified about Watergate. .

(Our colleague Maggie Haberman profiles Hutchinson here.)

The committee will hold more hearings in the coming weeks, and other details will no doubt come to light. But the fundamental story of January 6 is clear: A US president who lost a re-election was aware of – and encouraged – a violent attack on the Capitol that was intended to transfer power to his opponent, the election winner. , to prevent. After that, most members of that defeated president’s party decided not to hold him accountable. Instead, with rare exceptions, they largely ignored or even repeated his lies about the election.

There is also reason to believe that Trump or other Republicans could try to overthrow a future election. Taken together, it represents the most serious threat to American democracy in many decades.

  • The committee described phone calls to witnesses, made by Trump allies, that were intended to intimidate the witnesses.

  • Hutchinson testified that Trump, furious at a denial by his attorney general that the election was stolen, threw his lunch against a White House wall. (The Times’ Peter Baker catalogs Trump’s anger in the last days of his presidency.)

  • The committee played video of Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, taking the fifth amendment after Representative Liz Cheney asked him if he believed in the peaceful transfer of political power.

  • Meadows and Giuliani sought presidential pardon for their role on January 6.

  • A lawyer for Ginni Thomas, the wife of High Court Judge Clarence Thomas, said she would not testify before the committee.

  • Yesterday’s session played like the Watergate hearings as through the writers’ room of “24”, writes our TV reviewer.

  • Hutchinson reminds us that to be a civil servant means to act to do difficult things, writes Michelle Cottle of Times Opinion. Bret Stephens asks whether the hearings will finally destroy Trump’s cult.

  • The case for Trump’s prosecution has only grown stronger, argues David French of The Dispatch. (Legal experts told The Times that Hutchinson’s testimony increases the likelihood that Trump will face criminal charges.)

Taika Waititi is perhaps the busiest man in Hollywood. He was behind the camera of the new Marvel movie “Thor: Love and Thunder” as director and co-writer. He was before that for the HBO pirate comedy series “Our Flag Means Death”, played by Blackbeard. He’s a voice in the new Pixar movie “Lightyear.” He creates two projects for Netflix based on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Waititi’s secret to managing the workload: not thinking about it. “If I were to step back and look at all the things I do, I would probably have had a panic attack,” he told The Times’ Dave Itzkoff. “I know there are too many things. I know I do a lot. I just have to keep turning every few hours. ”