The John Dean moment
John Dean should be satisfied with the surprise witness at Tuesday’s hearing. CNN broke the news early that Cassidy Hutchinson would be testifying, and she did not disappoint. Hutchinson is the former assistant to Mark Meadows. CNN surmised that Hutchinson was ready to talk because she fired her Trump-affiliated attorney. Talk she did. Hutchinson shared just how far Trump’s insanity runs.
Trump’s main concern on January 6 was crowd size, not that that’s anything new. He’s been lying about the size of his crowds since inauguration. Hutchinson told the committee that Trump was “furious” because everyone was not allowed into the speaking area, especially those with weapons. Trump responded that he didn’t care if they had “f-ing weapons” because they would never hurt him. This is typical Trump. People with weapons plan to harm someone, but if it’s not him, Trump is fine with it. He was also okay with the chants of “hang Mike Pence,” as Hutchinson detailed that Trump said: “Mike deserves that.”
So many of the stories that came courtesy of Cassidy Hutchinson were so outlandish that they were almost unbelievable-emphasis on almost. Everyone knows that Trump is a narcissistic imbecile, but some things are hard to believe, like Trump throwing his food at the wall when Bill Barr told him there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump doesn’t care about evidence; he wants what he wants despite the evidence. Mark Meadows is not much better.
Hutchinson communicated things first began to spiral out of control, she went to Mark Meadows, who was on his phone in the control car. Hutchinson said she opened the door, and Meadows slammed it shut. She tried again, and he did the same thing. By the time Meadows finally deemed it necessary to see what his aide wanted, all hell had literally broken loose. Hutchinson testified that Meadows had an obvious “lack of reaction” to what was happening, and Trump refused to call the rioters down. Hutchinson testified that Ivanka, Jared Kushner, Eric Herschmann, Pat Cipollone, Pat Philbin, and Kayleigh McEnany all tried in vain to get Trump to act, but he was too busy enjoying himself to intervene.
After everything was over, Hutchinson testified that Meadows and Giuliani both asked Trump for pardons, indicating that they knew what they had done to facilitate the events of January 6 were unlawful. Hutchinson also revealed that Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Louie Gohmert, and Scott Perry all sought pardons. Hutchinson said that she was “disgusted” by the entire event: “As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic. It was un-American, and you were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.”
Everything about Trump and his “presidency” was a lie. People who continue to support this monster are not just in denial; it goes far beyond denial. They refuse to see what’s right in front of them, and they are either completely brainwashed or completely stupid. Regardless, Hutchinson brought things into focus with her testimony, and it is time for Merrick Garland to act. Trump broke the law; he tried to destroy our democracy, and for that, he must pay.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years