Trump’s intel director feared Jan. 6: ‘He expressed concern it could spiral out of control’
Donald Trump's last director of national intelligence was deeply concerned about the former president's effort to overturn his election loss, according to new testimony from a former White House aide.
Cassidy Hutchinson, the top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified Tuesday before the House Select Committee that she grew fearful about Jan. 6, 2021, as she learned more about the planning.
"In the days before Jan. 2, I was apprehensive about the 6th," Hutchinson said. "I heard general plans for a rally, I heard tentative movements to go to the Capitol. But that was the first evening that I felt scared and nervous on Jan. 6, and I had a deeper concern for what was happening with the planning aspects of it."
Hutchinson testified that her concerns were shared by John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence and a former Republican congressman.
"My understanding is that Director Ratcliffe didn't want much to do with the post-election period," Hutchinson testified. "He felt that it wasn't something that the White House should be pursuing. He felt it was dangerous for the president's legacy. He had expressed concern that it could spiral out of control and potentially be dangerous, either in our democracy or for the way that things were going on the 6th, trying to fight the results of the election, finding missing ballots, pressuring -- filing lawsuits in certain state where there did not seem to be significant evidence and reaching out to legislatures about -- that's pretty much the way the White House is handling the post-election period. They felt there could be dangerous repercussions in terms of precedents set for elections, for our democracy, for the 6th. They were hoping we would concede."
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