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Two Secret Service sources told CNN on Friday that they heard about former President Donald Trump lunging at the driver of his presidential SUV on January 6, 2021.
The pair of sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, backed up much of former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s explosive testimony on the altercation in the motorcade vehicle known as “the Beast” after Trump found out he wouldn’t be driven to join his supporters at the Capitol.
“He had sort of lunged forward – it was unclear from the conversations I had that he actually made physical contact, but he might have. I don’t know,” one of the Secret Service sources told CNN. “Nobody said Trump assaulted him; they said he tried to lunge over the seat – for what reason, nobody had any idea.”
The other source, who said they had spoken directly with Trump’s driver from that day, said they did not hear anything about Trump trying to grab the steering wheel, in line with the other agency member’s recollection of conversations about the incident.
The first source said they had heard about Trump’s altercation with the driver going back to February 2021.
Hutchinson’s account, which she gave under oath, came from a discussion with Tony Ornato, the White House deputy chief of staff at the time.
“I noticed the head of Mr. Trump’s security detail sitting in a chair, looking somewhat discombobulated, a little lost,” Hutchinson testified. “I looked at Tony, he said, ‘Did you effing hear what happened in the Beast?’ I said, ‘No, Tony, I just got back, what happened?’
“Tony proceeded to tell me that when the president got in the Beast, he was under the impression from Mr. Meadows that the off-the-record movement to the Capitol was still possible and likely to happen but that Bobby had more information,” Hutchinson continued. “As the president had gotten into the vehicle with Bobby, he thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when Bobby had relayed to him that we’re not; we don’t have the assets to do it; it’s not secure; we’re going back to the West Wing, the president had a very strong, very angry response to that.”
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