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Secret Service vs Cassidy Hutchinson: Another agent now debunks former aide's claims about Trump

'Trump's not a little guy, right? His girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel,' remarked the secret service, under conditions of anonymity

On June 28, Cassidy Hutchinson, the former aide to Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, appeared before a Select Committee of Congress set up to inquire January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol. The 25-year-old Hutchinson provided a detailed account on what she saw and heard, and the role allegedly played by the former president as the Capitol attack unfolded. She said that Trump had lunged for the presidential limo’s steering wheel after Robert Engel, who was in charge of Trump’s security detail on that day, refused to drive him to Capitol. Questioning Hutchinson's claims, a Secret Service agent has spoken out. He argued, "Trump's not a little guy, right? His girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel."

The agent, who spoke to DailyMail anonymously, mentioned that the former president's 250lb, 6 feet 3 inch frame would likely stop him from making such a move in fully armored SUV that comes complete with a partition between the front and rear seats. He further stated, "I don't mean to sound disparaging to the former president, but just his girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel. [He is] not the most agile human being."

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Statements made by Hutchinson in her testimony

According to the testimony, reported by NPR, the 76-year-old former president believed that he was going to be driven to the Capitol following his speech. Hutchinson said, "Tony [Ornato] described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, 'I’m the f’ing president, take me up to the Capitol now,' to which Bobby [Engel] responded, 'sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.' The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr Engel grabbed his arm, said, 'sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We’re not going to the Capitol.' Mr Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel. And Mr — when Mr Ornato had recounted this story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles."

'Officially debunked slanderous claims'

In the early morning on June 29, author Nick Adams tweeted that the US Secret Service had “officially debunked slanderous claims” against former US President Donald Trump made by ex-White House aide Hutchinson in front of the US House Jan 6 Capitol riot panel.

The end of the tweet asked, “Will the fact checkers correct the record?” The author also later tweeted that Hutchinson had been “exposed by the United States Secret Service as a fraud," when Adam Kinzinger, representative for Illinois's 16th congressional district took a dig on him by saying, "Says this fraud that i met over a dozen years ago as he was DESPERATELY trying to get known. Trust me he was insanely desperate. At the McLean County Republican breakfast."

Nick Adams himself did not specifically mention what slanderous claims he was referring to in regard to Hutchinson’s testimony. However, CBS News reported the statement made by the Secret Service, which did not deny Hutchinson’s testimony. It said, “The United States Secret Service has been cooperating with the Select Committee since its inception in spring 2021, and will continue to do so, including by responding on the record to the Committee regarding the new allegations surfaced in today’s testimony.”