Extract from ABC News
Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has called it "a very very bad day" for the former president. Why?
That all comes down to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's "damning" testimony, made at an unscheduled public hearing for the US Capitol riot committee on Tuesday, local time.
It has also sparked questions about what's next in the ongoing January 6 attack probe, and if what was learned on Wednesday could lead to criminal charges against some big names.
Here's how it could play out.
Back up, what happened on Wednesday?
Ms Hutchinson was a top aide to Donald Trump's last chief of staff in the job, Mark Meadows.
In her testimony, she alleged previously unknown details about:
- The extent of Mr Trump's rage in his final weeks of office, including saying White House security official Tony Ornato had told her Mr Trump physically tried to force his driver to take him to the Capitol as protesters stormed the building
- Mr Trump having thrown his lunch at the wall in December after finding out then-attorney-general William Barr had told the media there was no fraud on a scale large enough to tip the election
- How Mr Trump knew some supporters had brought weapons on January 6 and, despite that, he wanted the metal-detecting magnetometers removed before his speech so more people could fill the space (so photos would look better)
- The link between Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the right-wing group the Proud Boys, saying she heard them mentioned in the January 6 plans when Mr Giuliani was around.
Former senior Justice Department lawyer David Laufman told the Washington Post that Ms Hutchinson’s testimony "contained credible nuggets of information that would support" prosecutors who were looking at Mr Trump as a target in a seditious conspiracy investigation.
What can January 6 committee actually do?
It's a congressional hearing that isn't a court of law, so they can't charge someone with alleged crimes.
However, they can make a criminal referral to prosecutors at the Department of Justice.
However, does the US Justice Department think it has a case against the former president?
That is still an unanswered question.
US Attorney-General Merrick Garland has not commented on a possible criminal case against Mr Trump nor against any other high-profile people named at the public hearings so far.
"I am watching, and I will be watching all the hearings," he said earlier this month.
However, some legal experts have said that Ms Hutchinson's testimony could give prosecutors more facts to pursue.
University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck said Mr Trump's urging to remove metal detectors could be crucial.
In Ms Hutchinson's testimony, she said Mr Trump's comments were: "I don't care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the f---ing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here."
Mr Vladeck said that, despite it not being a court of law, the evidence was strong.
"When you have witnesses who are in these conversations, who are in these rooms, who are actively participating in the high-level discussions of January 6, it seems to me that one of two things has to be true: either they're lying, or [former] president Trump and a lot of people close to him are in serious jeopardy."
The committee has been investigating what happened back in 2021 for almost a year.
What we're learning now is all coming out via a series of public hearings — there were initially scheduled to be six in total.
However, Wednesday's testimony was a surprise additional hearing — and the committee's sixth — with the next one not until July.
How are people reacting to the testimony?
Former deputy press secretary in the Trump White House, Sarah Matthews, tweeted her support for Ms Hutchinson, saying the testimony was "damning":
And a former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin praised her "courage and integrity":
Ms Hutchinson also became Mr Trump's focus on Truth Social, the website he created after Twitter banned him following the insurrection.
He made several posts, calling the committee "kangaroo court" and accused her of lying.
He continued to post throughout the afternoon, saying her body language "is that of a total bull---- artist," and describing her handwriting as "that of a Whacko?"
However, there could be a counter-claim against one aspect of Ms Hutchinson's account.
Citing her conversation with Mr Ornato, Ms Hutchinson had testified that Mr Trump struggled with Secret Service agents on January 6, after they insisted he return to the White House rather than join supporters storming the Capitol.
The New York Times and NBC, citing sources in the Secret Service, said the head of Trump's security detail, Robert Engel, and the driver were prepared to testify under oath that Mr Trump never lunged for the steering wheel.
Mr Engel was in the room when Mr Ornato relayed the story, Ms Hutchinson said on Wednesday.
The Secret Service responded to Wednesday's hearing, saying it had been co-operating fully with the committee already, but planned on "responding formally and on the record" as soon as it could be accommodated by the committee.
Mr Trump also hit out at that story, posting on his social media:
Ms Hutchinson's lawyer said those with knowledge of the episode also should "testify under oath":
ABC/wires
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