WASHINGTON - Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. She renewed her call for former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee after damning testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
The panel's vice chair, Cheney, said Hutchinson's comments about Cipollone being concerned about former President Donald Trump's plans on Jan. 6 shows it's important to hear directly from him.
As we heard yesterday, WH counsel Pat Cippollone had significant concerns re. Cheney tweeted Wednesday morning that Trump canceled his Jan 6 activities. It's time for Mr. Cippollone to testify on the record. The need for his testimony is outweighed by any concerns about the institutional interests of his previous office. In a bombshell testimony before the committee Tuesday, Hutchinson detailed what she saw as a top aide to then White House chief of staff Mark Meadows before and on January 6. She said that Cipollone was concerned about the legal consequences if Trump went to the Capitol after his rally at the White House Ellipse.
Hutchinson said on January 3, 2021, that on January 3, she approached Cipollone after Meadows floated the idea of going to the Capitol on January 6 and told her that this would be a terrible idea for us, we have serious legal concerns if we go up to the Capitol that day," she told the committee.
On the morning of Jan. 6, before Trump's rally, Hutchinson said she saw Cipollone near the White House. Mr. Cipollone said something: Please make sure we don't go up to the Capitol, Cassidy, keep in touch with me.'' If we make that movement happen, we're going to get charged with every crime imaginable. Hutchinson said that in the days leading up to the sixth, we had conversations about obstructing justice or defrauding the electoral count. Cheney pleaded for Cipollone to come forward at the end of the committee's hearing last Thursday, saying that Our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right. They tried to stop a number of President Trump's plans for Jan. 6 and they deserved to hear from him personally.
After the hearing ended, a person close to Cipollone told NBC News that Pat has cooperated with the committee with President Trump's permission, but there are serious institutional concerns and privilege issues that have been recognized by the committee.