A new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General disputes a key claim made by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson had testified to the Jan. 6 Committee in 2022 that President Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of “the Beast,” the presidential limousine, when he was informed he was being taken back to the White House instead of the Capitol.
According to witnesses interviewed by the DHS OIG, Trump did not make any such attempt. The report cites that Secret Service agents inside the vehicle stated they could not recall if Trump was angry about being denied his request to go to the Capitol, but they did not observe him reaching for the steering wheel or lunging at the detail lead.
A footnote in the report details interviews with Secret Service agents who were present. The limousine driver claimed that Trump was angry, while the detail lead could not recall if the President was visibly angry. The report indicates that the DHS OIG did not interview Hutchinson because her testimony was already publicly available.
Ornato, a key figure in Hutchinson’s account, reportedly told the OIG he did not remember discussing the President’s return trip to the White House. This finding contrasts sharply with Hutchinson’s June 2022 testimony, where she described Ornato as saying Trump was furious and attempted to physically assert control of the vehicle.
Major news outlets, including Reuters, CBS News, and NBC News, previously covered Hutchinson’s claims extensively when she testified to Congress.
