SATIRE (unless it isn't)
THE HOAX FILES · 32
Secondhand Lunge, First-Hand Denial
Secondhand account of a lunge, firsthand denial. Steering wheel unavailable for comment.
CNN, NBC
A hearsay story about Trump grabbing the wheel of the Beast ran wall to wall. The agents involved were ready to testify it didn't happen.
As printed on the graphic:
Trump Assaulted Secret Service Agents and Grabbed Steering Wheel of Beast Hoax
What they sold
June 28, 2022. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testifies to the January 6 committee that Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato told her that on January 6, Trump got furious when he was told he couldn't go to the Capitol, grabbed at the steering wheel, and lunged at agent Robert Engel. CNN, NBC and the rest ran it as the bombshell of the hearings.
What the record shows
Her account was secondhand by her own description. The same day, CNN and NBC reported that Secret Service sources said Ornato and Engel were prepared to testify under oath that no physical assault or grab of the wheel happened. They didn't dispute that Trump was angry or wanted to go to the Capitol. NBC ran "Cassidy Hutchinson's Jan. 6 testimony comes under increased scrutiny."
Hedge: FNN isn't calling Hutchinson a liar. She testified to what she said she was told. Whether the grab happened is DISPUTED. The people who were in the vehicle say no. A hearsay account went out to the world as fact.
The damage
FNN analysis: a congressional hearing staged like prime-time TV, with secondhand testimony and no cross-examination, became the headline. Then the firsthand denials got the B-block. Gallup's 2022 trust: 34%, with 38% "none at all."
Closer
A hearsay lunge, and a firsthand denial nobody aired. If you weren't in the car, you don't get the headline.