Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/616

 organization, to suggest that Hutchinson did not need to testify about the issue in the presidential vehicle, could suggest that she "did not recall" it, or should downplay it.

To further corroborate the accounts received of President Trump's intent to travel to the Capitol, the Committee interviewed a member of the Metropolitan Police who was also present in the motorcade, Officer Mark Robinson. Officer Robinson confirmed that he was aware contemporaneously of the "heated discussion" that took place in the Presidential vehicle:

Committee Staff: And was there any description of what was occurring in the car?

Mr. Robinson: No. Only that—the only description I received was that the President was upset and that he was adamant about going to the Capitol, and there was a heated discussion about that.

Committee Staff: When you say "heated," is that your word, or is that the word that was described by the TS agent?

Mr. Robinson: No. The word described by the TS agent meaning that the President was upset, and he was saying there was a heated argument or discussion about going to the Capitol.

Mr. Schiff: So about how many times would you say you've been part of that motorcade with the President?

Mr. Robinson: Probably over a hundred times.

Mr. Schiff: And, in that hundred times, have you ever witnessed another discussion of an argument or a heated discussion with the President where the President was contradicting where he was supposed to go or what the Secret Service believed was safe?

Mr. Robinson: No.

The Committee also interviewed the Secret Service agent who was in the same car as Officer Robinson. That person shared a similar account, and confirmed that he did not take issue with Officer Robinson's testimony: "[The driver of the Presidential car] said something to the effect of, 'The President is pretty adamant that he wants to go to the Capitol,'" the agent said, recalling what he had heard on the 6th.

In addition, the Committee interviewed the USSS Press Secretary, who communicated with both Engel and with the driver in the presidential vehicle after Hutchinson appeared publicly. That witness indicated that Engel's account of the events confirmed that the President was indeed