Thursday’s hearing revealed details that Secret Service members of Former Vice President Mike Pence feared for the lives of their colleagues during the Capitol attack. According to CBS News.
An interview with the witness was played during the hearing, relaying that Pence’s former detail radioed goodbyes to their families during the attack, per a witness who testified anonymously but was described as a “national security professional”This was his job at the White House on the day that the attack occurred.
The witness stated:”The members of the VP detail at this time were starting to fear for their own lives,”To make matters worse, there was much yelling. “very personal calls”According to the outlet the broadcast was made over radio traffic.
The witness interview revealed that agents working with the former Vice-President at the Capitol offered continuing support. “reassurances” even as the violence escalated, saying “They were only yelling.” in reference to the mob.
During the hearing, the chat log from staff on Trump’s National Security Council — which details the situation at the Capitol in real-time — was disclosed.
This eighth hearing focused on the 187 minutes on January 6 from when the former president finished his speech at the Ellipse to when he posted a tweet at 4:17 p.m. telling rioters to leave the Capitol.
According to the log that was shared:
- 2:13 p.m: “Beginning to kick in windows in the capitol. 2 windows have been kicked-in.” and then “Capital is breached”
- 2:16 p.m: “VP being pulled,” was entered
- 2:18 p.m: “They may need to make a decision within the next 2 or 3 minutes, or they might not be able move. VP could be stuck at Capitol”
- 2:24 p.m: “Right now, service at the capitol doesn’t sound very appealing.”
“It was quite disturbing. “I don’t like to talk about it,” an anonymous witness stated of the entry at 2:24 p.m.
“…but there were calls to say goodbye to family members and so forth. It was getting – for whatever the reason was on the ground, the VP detail thought that this was about to get very ugly.”
According to CBS News, in past hearings the select committee has detailed how Trump aimed to put pressure on Pence, hoping to unilaterally overturn the results of the election during the joint session of Congress that convened January 6.
The goal was for this to happen by either rejecting state electoral votes or returning them to the state legislatures to replace their electors.
Because Pence did not oblige, he and the former president had a tenuous phone call the morning of the attack where Pence was called a “wimp,” Based on testimony.
This insult preceded Trumps’ tweet saying the former Vice lacked “courage.
Sarah Matthews — a former White House deputy press secretary who resigned after the attack — testified in-person Thursday about her experiences in the White House during the Capitol assault and previously told the committee in a recorded interview that Trump’s tweet only fueled rioters, according to the outlet.
According to CBS News, the rioters surged inside the Capitol and chanted “hang Mike Pence,” overwhelming law enforcement after the president’s tweet.
According to the outlet, this resulted in the Secret Service moving Pence’s ceremonial Senate office from the Capitol Complex to a secure location.
CBS reported that CBS showed photos of Pence at an earlier hearing. He was seen in the secure location of the phone and then watching a video recording from Trump, urging the mob go home.
The witness stated: “It sounds like that we came very close to either Service having to use lethal options or worse. At that point, I don’t know. Is the VP compromised?” according to the outlet.
“Is the detail – like, I don’t know. Like, we didn’t have visibility, but it doesn’t – if they’re screaming and saying things, like, say good-bye to the family, like the floor needs to know this is going to a whole another level soon.”
