Jamie Raskin holds cards close to the vest in post-hearing Q&A with reporters
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) spoke to reporters after the sixth public House Select Committee hearing, this time interviewing former top White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Among the things Hutchinson revealed, Raskin said, was witness tampering in Trump World around the investigation.
"I found that to be quite astounding that the president of the United States was upset that the Secret Service and others were using metal detectors for people entering his rally — he wanted those taken down so everyone could enter including those who were armed," Raskin explained to Raw Story. "And there were official reports of people carrying AR-15s on that day. And to me, that's something the American people need to think about."
He went on to say that the Trump crowd "was obviously armed and dangerous" and Trump and his top aides knew it.
"She demonstrated a lot a lot of courage," Raskin said of Hutchinson. "When there are still some people out there who haven't summoned the kind of courage to tell the truth."
Raskin addressed the messages Trump World sent to Hutchinson and possible witness tampering when speaking to CNN after other reporters.
"All we are saying is that witness tampering is a crime and people should be aware of that. That's a federal offense. You can't mess with witnesses," he explained. "Everybody owes the government in this case, this committee, his or her honest testimony."
Raskin said that his obligation is to simply find the facts, not to try anyone for crimes. If the Justice Department wants to do that, it's possible.
"I know that our mandate comes from the House Resolution 503 which is to assemble all of the facts and what happened on Jan. 6, the causes behind them and what needs to be done to fortify American democracy and fortify against coups, insurrections and political violence going forward," Raskin continued. "So, every hearing has involved testimony where there is a lot of evidence of crimes and the Department of Justice is expert in that and it's really their jurisdiction."
Reporters asked if witness tampering was the reason that the committee revealed so little ahead of the Tuesday hearing and that it was a surprise. He explained that they would simply call hearings when they see fit.
Speaking to CNN afterward, Raskin said that the committee has called the two agents to testify before the committee but it wasn't a deposition he was involved with and he couldn't give any information on it.
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