Former Trump aide Hope Hicks testified to the January 6 committee that Donald Trump ‘refused’ to put out a statement warning against violence in the lead-up to January 6.
It’s a damning footnote to the January 6 committee’s historic decision to unanimously refer the former president for four criminal charges.
In a videotaped segment of her prior testimony, Hicks also discussed warning Trump that he could harm his legacy by pushing his election fraud claims.
‘The only thing that matters is winning,’ the ex-president allegedly responded.
The panel’s recommended charges are obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and ‘inciting,’ ‘aiding’ or ‘assisting’ an insurrection.
In other developments:
- The panel slammed Ivanka Trump for not being ‘forthcoming’ in her testimony
- A GOP ‘shadow group’ plans to release its version of the report, focusing on Capitol Hill security failures and slamming the Jan 6 panel for ‘political payback’
- ‘Inebriated’ Rudy Giuliani was ONLY member of Trump’s immediate team who wanted him to declare victory on election night in 2020
Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led a subcommittee on the criminal referrals, pointed out that the final charge – if Trump is found guilty – triggers ‘automatic grounds for disqualification from ever holding public office again, at the federal or state level.’
He also said a criminal referral would be sent for pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman.
‘The President has an affirmative and primary constitutional duty to act to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Nothing could be a greater betrayal of this duty than to assist in insurrection against the constitutional order,’ Raskin said.
Aside from the vote, Hicks’ videotaped testimony and text messages were largely the only new revelations in the nearly two-hour event.
One exchange between her and former Trump White House press aide Hogan Gidley indicates they both wanted the ex-president to stop his supporters as they were flooding the Capitol and overwhelming police.
Gidley sent Hicks on January 6 at 2:19pm: ‘Hey. I know you’re seeing this. But he really should tweet something about Being NON-violent.’
Hicks responded, ‘I’m not there.’
‘I suggested it several times Monday and Tuesday and he refused,’ her message continued.
The longtime Trump ally told lawmakers that she did not directly address de-escalation with the former president, but discussed it with White House lawyer Eric Herschmann.
‘I communicated to people like Eric Herschmann that it was my view that it was important that the president put out some kind of message in advance of the even,’ Hicks said in the video.
‘Mr. Herschmann said that he had made the same recommendation directly to the president. And that he had refused.’
Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren said Hicks’ testimony is just one of a litany of Trump allies and aides who told the then-president point-blank that he needed to call off the violence and stop pushing his election fraud claims.
‘Despite all that, he continued to purposely and maliciously make false claims, sometimes within a day of being told that a particular claim was false and unsupported by the evidence,’ Lofgren said.
