President Trump finally relented to the police from his staff.
His family.
And from Capitol Hill for him to do
Something more for 1787 minutes more than three hours after he stopped
speaking at the Ellipse.
After he stopped speaking to a mob that he had sent armed to the
capital.
That's when he tweeted a video telling the rioters to go home while
also telling him them that they were special.
And that he loved them.
By that time, although the violence was far from over.
Enforcement had started to turn the tide.
Reinforcements were on the way and elected officials were insecure
locations The writing was already on the wall, the rioters would
not succeed.
Here's what was showing on Fox News, the channel the president was
watching all afternoon.
Back to Bret Bear with more information now, Brett, what do you have?
Our Pentagon team. Jen Griffin, Lucas Tomlinson, confirming the Defense
Department has now mobilized the entire DC National Guard. 1800 troops
take several hours as I was mentioning before to get them up and
running. The Army secretary Ron McCarthy is setting up a headquarters
at the FBI. You just heard from David spot that the FBI is also sending
troops to the capital.
It's no coincidence. Then the president Trump finally gave in and
went out to the Rose Garden at 403.
His staff prepared a script for him to read.
But he refused to use it.
As you can see on the screen you can see the script is stamped president
has seen
The script, said quote. I'm asking you to leave the capital region
now and go home in a peaceful way.
The president was urged to stick to this script.
But he spoke off the cuff.
Erik Hersman and Nick Luna went with the president to film the message
in the Rose Garden.
Let's hear what they had to say and see the never before seen
footage of the president recording this video message.
Ultimately, these remarks that we're looking at here in exhibit 25
were not the remarks that the president delivered in the Rose Garden.
Do you know why the president decided not to use these.
I don't know, sir. No, I don't. I do not know why.
Did the president use any written remarks to your knowledge, or did
he just go off the cuff?
To my analogy was off the cuff, sir.
Chase.
Okay, when you're ready, sir.
You tell me when you're ready, sir.
Who's behind me?
He's gone. He's gone around. We're all clear now.
I know you're paying.
I know you're hurt.
We had a election. Let me say
I know your pain.
I know you're hurt.
We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election
and everyone knows it, especially the other side.
But you have to go home now.
We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to
respect our great
People in law and order. We don't want anybody hurt. It's a very
tough period of time. There's never been a time like this. Where
Such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us
from me from you from our country.
This was a fraudulent election.
But we can't play into the hands of these people.
We have to have peace.
So go home. We love you. You're very special.
You've seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that
are
So bad and so evil.
I know how you feel.
But go home and go home in peace.
When I got there. Basically, the president just had finished filming
the video, and I think he was basically retiring for the day. Was
there any discussion about the president releasing a second video
that deck
Not that I recall.
When when you finish this video? I think everyone was like
Days over.
People are pretty grained.
We're pretty what drained
But we said Dave
They over every day. There were still people in the capital at that
point, weren't there
There were people in the capital, but I believe by this stage and
law enforcement.
I have to go back and look, but I believe law enforcement was either
they're moving in or going to take charge.
I just hope people were emotionally drained.
By the time that videotape was done
Emotionally drained.
At the White House.
Here's what was happening at the same time at the Capitol.
We warned the audience that this clip also contains strong language
and violence.
Chief.
Another officer, unconscious. The terrorists
everybody we need
we need. We need strong, angry Patriots down.
I believe
While President Trump refused to even lift another finger to help.
Other leaders honor their oath and acted to clear the capital and
resume the joint session, for instance, here and never before seen
photos and video of congressional leaders in action during the attack.
The video is a portion of a call they had at approximately 4 45 with
acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.
I don't want these people keep us from finishing our business. So
I need you to get the bill and cleared. Give us the OK so we can
go back and session and finish up the people's business.
As soon as possible.
Mr Secretary and Senator Schumer. Some people here in the Capitol.
Police believe it would take several days to secure the building.
Do you agree with that analysis
on the ground, and I do not agree with that and elements. So what
is the earliest that we could safely resume our proceedings in the
Senate and House chambers the earliest we could safely
Reasonable.
I Here's my assessment.
On the ground.
To the right now, but I need to be here. I would say that came we're
looking at 4 to 5 hours.
The vice president also worked the phones from his own secure evacuation
location, including conversations with acting Secretary of Defense
Miller and other military leaders while past President Trump's 4
17 video. Let's look at some never before seen photographs of the
vice president during this critical time.
And hear about the vice president's conversation with military leaders
to secure the capital and sure everyone was safe.
Vice president Pence.
Two or three calls with vice president Pence. He was very animated,
and he issued vary explicit.
Very
Direct, unambiguous orders.
There was no question about that. And he and he was and and I can
get you the exact quotes I guess from some of our records somewhere,
but he was very animated, very direct, very firm.
Uh to Secretary Miller, Get the military down and get the guard down
here. Put down this situation, etcetera.
As you heard earlier in the hearing, the president did not call the
vice president or anyone in the military, Federal law Enforcement
or DC government, not a single person.
General Milley did hear from Mark Meadows. The contrast between that
call and his calls with vice President Pence tell you everything
you need to know about President Trump's dereliction of duty. Let's
listen.
He said.
This from memory.
He said.
We have. We have to kill the narrative that the vice president is
making all the decisions
we need to established narrative.
That, um
You know that the president is still in charge.
Things are steady or stable would stuff
I immediately interpret that as politics, politics politics
Red flag for me personally. No action, but I remember distinctive.
And, uh,
I don't do political narratives.
So while President Trump and his advisers were drained
Other leaders upheld their oaths to do the right thing.
Maybe it was exhausting to get the president to put out that video.
But think about the law enforcement officers who are attacked by
the mob that day.
President Trump had summoned them himself to Washington.
And what about President Trump? He watched TV tweeted called senators
to try to delay the can of electoral votes called Rudy Giuliani and
argued with his staff who are insinuating who were insisting that
he should call off the attack.
Miss Matthews. What was your reaction to President Trump's message
to the mob at 4 17.
I was struck by the fact that he chose to begin the video by pushing
the lie that there is a stolen election.
And as the video went on, I felt a small sense of relief because
he finally told these people to go home. But that was immediately
followed up by him saying We love you. You're very special.
And that was disturbing to me because
He didn't distinguish between those that peacefully attended his
speech earlier that day, and those that we watched cause violence
at the Capitol.
Instead, he told the people who we had just watched.
Storm our nation's capital with the intent on overthrowing our democracy,
violently attacked police officers and chant heinous things like
Hang Mike Pence. We love you. You're very special.
And as a spokesperson for him. I knew that I would be asked to defend
that, and to me his refusal to act and call off the mob that day
and his refusal to condemn the violence was indefensible. And so
I knew that I would be resigning that evening, and so I finished
out the workday.
I went home and called my loved ones to tell them my decision and
resign that evening.
Thank you.
Indefensible. Let's hear what some of your colleagues in the press
office told us about their reaction to the same 4 17 message.
I felt like it was the the absolute bare minimum of what could have
been said at that point or something on camera.
What else do you think should have been said.
Um
So a more forceful, more forceful
Um
Dismissal of the violence and more forceful command to go home and
more forceful.
Um, respect for law enforcement, even a comparison.
Um
To the respect that we have given law enforcement.
As it relates to what was done to them in the prior summer.
Um
And I thought it was important. That acknowledgement given to
The U. S. Capitol building itself.
What
It's a symbol of what it means.
Um not only to the people that work there, but to the American people
generally, and the work of Congress that by law needed to be conducted
that day.
Do you wish, In hindsight that the president had asked the protesters
to leave the capital earlier than he ended up asking them to do that?
Of course I would love to go home message would have happened earlier
in the day.
The president's words matter. We know that many of the rioters were
listening to President Trump.
We heard from one last week, Stephen Ayers.
Let's listen to what he had to say about the 4 17 message from the
president and see how rioters reacted to the president's message
in real time.
But when we were there
As soon as that come out, everybody started talking about it, and
that's it seemed like it started to disperse.
You know some of the crowd
the president's message, everybody to go home.
That's our order.
Yeah. Whoa! He says Go home
for you.
Yeah, he said to go home.
But Justice Mr Ayers said police were still fending off the last
throes of the brutal assault.