Cassidy Hutchnson Shatters the Trump White House’s Code of Silence

Today's hearing of the House Select Committee on January 6th produced numerous bombshells and most certainly was not good news for Donald Trump, a/k/a Der Trumpenfuhrer, and former chief of staff Mark Meadows.  The testimony of Meadows' top aide, Cassidy Hutchinson painted a clear picture of the dysfunction of the Trump White and tied Trump far more tightly to the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and made clear that Trump wanted his mob of supporters armed - some with AR-15's - and dangerous as he directed them to the Capitol.  Indeed, her testimony made it clear that Trump tried to go to the himself to lead the mob but for the refusal of the Secret Service detail.   Meanwhile, as we learn more stunning details of the planned insurrection, everyday citizens are faced with the consequences of extremist appointed by Trump - a thoroughly horrible individual - to the Supreme Court. Would that their appointments could be rescinded given that they were nominated by a criminal.  Pieces in both the Washington Post and the New York Times look at todays revelations, including information on possible witness tampering efforts by Trump and his loyalists.  First, these highlights from the Post:

An out-of-control president lunging for the wheel of his limousine to have it take him to the Capitol on Jan. 6, insisting that he did not care whether his armed supporters were subjected to security screening because “they’re not here to hurt me.” An ineffectual, overwhelmed White House chief of staff who understood that “things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6” — and did nothing to prevent it. An alarmed White House counsel who warned, of the president’s inaction, “Something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood’s going to be on [his] f---ing hands.”

Never in American history has there been a portrayal of a president so unfit for office or so willing to betray his oath in a desperate bid to retain power. Never have so many people in such positions of immense authority stayed so shamefully silent for so long about the horrifying behavior they witnessed, on Jan. 6, 2021, and before.

And never has the nation witnessed the drama of a staffer so young, composed and resolute describe witnessing a constitutional disaster that she was unable to prevent — “a bad car accident that was about to happen, where you can’t stop it but you want to do something.”

In an administration of enablers, in a crowd of sycophants unwilling even now to stand up to Donald Trump and speak publicly about his unhinged conduct, 25-year-old Cassidy Hutchinson, former assistant to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, emerged from obscurity Tuesday, an unlikely — and lonely — truth-teller.

Her GOP bona fides, including internships for House Republican whip Steve Scalise (La.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), could not have been more impeccable, nor her demeanor — calm and sorrowful — more convincing. She was John Dean in a white blazer and diamond necklace, reciting a similarly damning cavalcade of facts.

But her breaking point arrived on Jan. 6 — and in the end, she was willing to abandon the code of complicit silence that still prevails among too many of her former colleagues. . . . I was really sad,” Hutchinson told the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. “As an American I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.”

If there were adults in the room with Hutchinson, barely out of college, their greater experience did not manifest itself: She was the one who demonstrated the maturity to warn Meadows against going to the Willard hotel war room where Trump allies were plotting to keep the president in office; to press him to call Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as the rioters breached the Capitol; to try to do something, anything, to stop the impending carnage.

While Meadows angled for a presidential pardon in the aftermath of the insurrection, Hutchinson has stepped up to fulfill her duty as a citizen. Let Trump deny her account, as he quickly did, and deride her as a “total phony” with a “fake story.” Anyone who watched Hutchinson can judge her credibility for themselves. She is an American heroine describing a decidedly unheroic moment.

Which raises the question: Where are the others? Cheney raised the specter of witness tampering, reciting pressures brought to bear on those summoned by the select committee, with unnamed interlocutors relaying menacing messages from Trump to those about to testify.

How terrifying it must have been for Hutchinson to take the leap — first of appearing before the committee for depositions, then of testifying on live television. She couldn’t prevent the car accident, but she performed a service to her country in providing a blow-by-blow account of the crash.

The Times column continues in a similar tone and it is difficult for me (and many others) to grasp what is wrong - both morally and mentally - with those who continue to support Trump and seem perfectly fine with the overthrow of America's democracy. Is their hatred of blacks, gays and anyone different from themselves so strong that they countenance treason and armed insurrection even as they claim to be "patriots."  Here are excerpts:

In this age of political cowardice and self-dealing, it can be easy to forget that public service is supposed to be a noble calling — one that at times requires people to step up and do hard, scary things.

On Tuesday, a former White House aide named Cassidy Hutchinson reminded us what that looks like.

Ms. Hutchinson, who worked for the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in the violent, closing days of the Trump administration, was the surprise witness in a last-minute hearing of the Jan. 6 House committee. With intimate knowledge of what went down inside the Trump West Wing, Ms. Hutchinson shared what she saw and heard during the attack on the Capitol as the defeated president, drunk on disappointment and desperation, tried to cling to power.

She did so knowing full well the abuse and threats that those who cross Donald Trump on even minor matters often suffer. She did so because, unlike so many of the bootlickers with whom Mr. Trump surrounds himself, she still has a spine.

For Ms. Hutchinson, part of public service is about answering questions from Congress. If not for her, we might never have learned just how out of control Mr. Trump appeared on Jan. 6: Following his incendiary speech at the Ellipse, she recalled being told by a security official, the president wanted so badly to join the angry mob that he hopped into the presidential limo and raged at the head of his security detail,

She also laid bare just how emphatically Mr. Meadows did not rise to meet the moment. Told of the weapons being carried by the crowd on Jan. 6, Mr. Meadows couldn’t be bothered to look up from his mobile phone, she said. Again and again, as Ms. Hutchinson told it, the president’s aides, family members and a slew of sycophants (including the Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham) sent texts and other entreaties for Mr. Trump to call off the mob.

If Mr. Trump couldn’t have his way, he was content to watch America burn.

One of the most breathtaking bits of Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony was her recounting of what Mr. Meadows said when Pat Cipollone, then the White House counsel, expressed fear for the safety of Vice President Mike Pence, whom Mr. Trump had publicly castigated for not helping him overturn the vote. “I remember Pat saying something to the effect of: ‘Mark, we need to do something more. They’re literally calling for the vice president to be effing hung,’” Ms. Hutchinson said.

How ironic that so many public officials who fancy themselves patriotic warriors — folks like Mr. Meadows, Representative Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader — have turned out to be so craven.

And yet, maybe it makes perfect sense when you consider just how desperate some of the Very Important People in question may be to keep their own sins hidden. Ms. Hutchinson testified that Mr. Meadows was among the lackeys who, post-Jan. 6, promptly sought a presidential pardon. Mr. Trump may not have thought the rioters did anything wrong, but Mr. Meadows, Mr. Giuliani and plenty of others apparently have grave concerns about their roles in the whole sordid affair.