The next action President Trump took
Was to tweet at 2 24. PM
What happened during the 35 minutes between his last tweet at 1,
49 and 2 24.
His staff repeatedly came into the room.
To see him and plead that he make a strong public statement condemning
the violence and instructing the mob.
To leave the capital.
He did not relent until after four o'clock.
When he went out to go to the Rose Garden to film his now infamous
go home message.
Abalone was a top White House lawyer.
Here's what he told us about his reaction to seeing the violence
and his advice throughout the afternoon.
When did you first realize that there was actually
I
First realizing it may have been on television
been
Tony or may have been building but I found out that people were
They weren't in the capital yet, but they were, you know, and and
I started watching it, you know?
Then I was aware of what specifically, did you think even? Yeah,
I think I was pretty clear that need to be an immediate and forceful
response statement, Public statement that
People need to leave the capital that
My question exactly that it sounds like you from the very onset of
violence the capital
oclock.
Pushing for a strong statement that people should leave the capital.
Is that right?
I was another sort of
You said that you expressed your opinion forcefully. Could you
Tell us exactly how you did that? Yeah, I can't I'm going to have
you know, I have to, uh
Privilege issue. I can't talk about conversations with the president,
but I can generically say that I said, you know, people need to be
told there needs to be a public announcement fast.
That they need to leave the capital.
And Pat, could you let us know? Approximately when you said that?
Approximately when, almost immediately after I found out people were
getting into the capital or approaching the capital in a way that
was was violent.
Remember any any discussion with mark medicines with respect to his
his view that the president didn't want to do it?
Some kind of resistance to
I wanted to say something wrong reminds.
Tony
Just just to be clear. Many people suggested it. Um, yeah, not just
me. Many people felt the same way. Um
I'm sure I had conversations with mark about this during the course
of the day and expressed my
My opinion very forcefully that
Excuse to be doubling. Your advice was tell people in the capital
and it took over two hours when there were subsequent statements
made tweets put forward in your view were insufficient. Did you continue
throughout the period of time up until 4 17 continue you and others
to push for a stronger state? Yes.
Were you joined in That effort by Ivanka Trump? Yes, yes.
Yes. White House Counsel's office wanted there to be a strong statement
out to condemn the rioters and confident in that I'm confident that
Ivanka Trump wanted there to be a strong statement to condemn the
rioters.
Um
I don't know the private conversation she had with Mr Trump and I
remember when she came to the office, one time with White House counsel's
office
when she came to the chief of staff's office with White House counsel's
office.
She was talking about the stage later that day and trying to get
her dad on board with
Saying something that was
More direct. Then he had wanted to at the time and throughout the
afternoon. Mark also wanted to got remember him getting Apodaca involved
because
down here because he thought that would be
Um important, um
I don't think Jared was there in the morning, but I think it came
Later. I remember thinking was supported to get him in there, too.
Um
And, of course past film and you know was expressing the same things.
I mean, Pat Philbin.
You know was very as I said, I don't think there was one of these
meetings where there might have been. But for the most part, I remember
that both of us going down together, going back getting on phone
calls. He was also very clearly expressing this view.
That's a Bologna in Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to chief of staff,
Mark Meadows, also told us about the Hang Mike Pence chance.
As you will see. Mr Sim Polonia recalled conversations about those
chants in the West Wing. But he relied on executive privilege to
maintain confidentiality over his and others direct communications
with the president.
Although Mr Sim Bologna was unwilling to provide more detail
There's Hardison provided more explicit information filling in those
blanks. See that for yourself?
It wasn't until
Mark hung up the phone handed it back to me. I went back to my desk.
A couple minutes later.
Him and Pat came back. Possibly Erik Hersman, too. I pretty sure
Erik Hersman was there.
But I'm confident it was path. That was there. Um
I remember Pat saying something to the effect of Mark. We need to
do something more there, literally calling.
For the vice president. The ethic Hong
And Mark had responded something to the effect of
You heard of Pat? He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they're
doing anything wrong.
To which passed, said something
this is I think crazy. We need to be doing something more briefly
stepped into Mark's office. Remember any discussion at any point
during the day about rioters at the Capitol, chanting, Hang my pants.
Yes, I remember. Remember.
Hearing that about that? Yes, I don't know if I have served that
myself on TV. I'm just curious. I understand that the defendants
line drawn, But do you remember what you can share with us about
the discussion about the
chance to hang my kids chance?
Good job. My view, please.
Thank you that that is outrageous, and for anyone to suggest such
a thing as a vice president of the United States for people in that
crowd chanting that
I thought it was terrible.
I thought it was outrageous and bomb.
And I expressed that very clearly.
Respect to your conversations with Mr Meadows, though, did you
Specifically raising concern over the vice president with him and
and how did he respond?
I believe I raised the concern about the vice president and I and
I began the nature of his response without remember calling exactly
what seem no people were doing all that they could.
And what about the president? Did he indicate whether about the president
was doing what needed to be done to protect the vice president?
Get your certain
that
That question for production to get okay.
I've been instructed on
I see
In addition, Mr Sit baloney testified that it would have been feasible
as commentators on television were suggesting for President Trump
to immediately appear at the podium in the press room to address
the nation.
Willing to be possible at any monk with the president to walk down
to the podium and the briefing and 12 talk to the nation. Any time
between when you first gave him advice, two o'clock and 4 17 when
video statement
Would that have been possible? Possible? Yes, possible.
We just heard, Mr Simple only say that President Trump could have
gone to the press briefing room to issue a statement at any moment.
To give you a sense of just how easy that would have been. Let's
take a look at a map of the West Wing.
As we saw earlier, the president's private dining room is at the
bottom of the map.
The press briefing room is at the top highlighted in blue and the
Rose Garden, where the president ultimately filmed his go home video
is on the right next to the Oval Office, and that's highlighted in
green.
Miss Matthews. How quickly could the president have gotten on camera
in the press briefing room to deliver a statement to the nation?
So, as you outlined, um, it would take probably less than 60 seconds
from the Oval Office dining room over to the press briefing room.
And for folks that might not know the briefing room is the room that
you see the White House press secretary do briefings from with the
podium in the blue backdrop, and there's a camera that is on in there
at all times. And so if the president had wanted to make a statement
And address the American people. He could have been on camera almost
instantly. And conversely, the White House Press Corps has offices
that are located directly behind the briefing room. And so if he
had wanted to make an address from the Oval Office, we could have
assembled the White House press corps, probably in a matter of minutes
to get them into the oval for him to do an on camera address.
Hmm. Thank you. Other witnesses have given us their views on that
question.
For example, General Keith Kellogg told us that some staff were concerned
that alive appearance by the president at the microphones at that
moment could actually make matters worse.
He told us he recommended against doing a press conference because
during his four years in the Trump administration quote, there wasn't
a single clean press conference We had had
President Trump's advisers newest state of mind at that moment, and