According to Stephanie Grisham, the reason she published Melania Trump’s direct text refusing to denounce the violence on January 6 was because Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony led her to assume the former first lady was aware of more extensive plans.
The former chief of staff for Melania Trump, Grisham, stated, “It just made me think she knew something.”
“It made me think she knew ahead of time that maybe her spouse was going to try to go down there,” I said.
Grisham, who was also the White House press secretary, said she was unsure about this.
The moment it all kind of destroyed me, as I recounted in the book, and I resigned right away, she said on CNN’s New Day.
“But, again, knowing her as well as I did at that point, it was so unlike her to not have condemned it,” she added.
Hutchinson’s explosive testimony, which exposed details like Trump’s sincere desire to join the MAGA crowd at the Capitol, forced Grisham to publish a virual of the book because, in her words, “there was a lot of context I thought.”
Again, Grisham stated, “Knowing Melania as I did, I was so discouraged, so sickened, and so sad that she wouldn’t speak up and just say plainly there should be no violence.”
Grisham shared what appeared to be a text exchange between her and a ‘MT’ – Melania Trump – on Tuesday following the conclusion of the hearing featuring Hutchinson in which she asks: “Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence?”
According to Grisham’s texts, the first lady replied, “No.”
In her book, I’ll Take Your Questions Now: A Novel, Grisham described this encounter with the then-first lady in detail. Explaining what she saw at the Trump White House and why it made her decide to leave.
“Finally saw the doomed French queen,” she wrote. Dismissive. Defeated. Detached.’
When the pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol, Melania Trump was in the midst of a photo shoot, capturing some of the White House’s rugs.
It “broke me,” wrote Grisham. I exhaled and waited for an additional minute. Make sure you are grounded and functioning rationally, something you learned to do in the Trump White House. I eventually tendered my resignation.
I sent her an email and copied her senior adviser, so I was unable to retract it or back out. I was finished,” stated Grisham.
Grisham met with the members of the House select committee on January 6, 2022, in person.
An account of President Donald Trump and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ actions during the MAGA riot was given to a House committee on January 6 by Hutchinson, a 25-year-old former White House assistant who was working under Meadows during the attack.
She even reminded Meadows that one of his close friends, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, was probably still in the Capitol Building as the enraged throng drew near, saying she was “frustrated” by her own boss’ reluctance.
At the time, I recalled thinking, “Mark needs to wake up, but I don’t know how to get him up.” She told the House committee that he must show concern.
“Do you know where Jim is right now?” I just sort of blurted out,” she recalled. He then turned to face me and glanced up. “Jim?” I asked to Mark, “Mark, did you hear him just now on the floor giving a floor speech?” Do you currently know his location?
According to Hutchinson, she urged Meadows to contact Jordan.
And I can still recall pointing at the TV and saying, “The rioters are approaching. They may gain entry, “She uttered, ” ‘ He gave me a concerned look before muttering, “Alright, I’ll call him.”
She compared it to seeing “a horrific automobile accident about to happen, where you can’t stop it, but you want to be able to do something,” and she said she wished she could intervene.
Ivanka Trump and other White House officials reportedly sought to convince the president to halt the attack hours before he made a video statement, according to Hutchinson in her audio deposition.
During the hearing, Hutchinson also described an unexpected meeting she had with Bobby Engel, the head of Trump’s security detail, and former deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato on January 6, following Trump’s speech at the Ellipse.
She claimed that Engel asked her, “Did you hear what effing happened in the Beast?”
She retorted that she wasn’t aware of it.
Tony went on to say that the president believed the off-the-record movement to the Capitol was still feasible and likely to occur when he boarded the Beast, but Bobby had more knowledge, Hutchinson added.
Trump believed they were headed to the Capitol, as he had promised his gathering of supporters, according to Hutchinson.
This occurred just before the assault.
“The president had a very strong, very angry response when Bobby had transmitted to him we’re not, we don’t have the assets to execute it, it’s not secure, and we’re going back to the West Wing,” Hutchinson stated.
Trump allegedly said something along the lines of, “I’m the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,” to the woman.
She claimed that Engel reaffirmed their intention to return to the White House.
Mr. Engel grabbed the president’s arm and said, “Sir, you need to remove your hand off the steering wheel, we’re going back to the West Wing, we’re not going to the Capitol,” she recalled. “The president reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel.”
In order to indicate that the president was aiming for Engel’s throat, Hutchinson stated, “Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge for Bobby Engel and when Mr. Ornato had relayed this incident to me, he gestured toward his clavicles.”
Then, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney questioned Hutchinson about whether Engel or Ornato had ever altered their accounts.
According to Hutchinson’s testimony, “Neither Mr. Ornato nor Mr. Engel ever told me that it was untrue.”
Hutchinson then discussed how Trump would hurl dishes after receiving terrible news.
She recalled “hearing noise” following the publication of the Associated Press report in which Barr debunked Trump’s widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, was called into Trump’s office.
Hutchinson claimed Meadows headed down toward the White House dining room when she came back.
Stop the rioters or “blood will be on your hands,” Cipollone warns Meadows.
In addition, she observed that the door was propped open and the valet was inside the dining room changing the tablecloth. He gestured for me to enter and then indicated toward the front of the room, next to the TV and the fireplace.
She added, “Where I initially noticed there was ketchup trickling down the wall. A broken porcelain plate is lying on the ground, too.
She explained that she subsequently assisted with the cleanup when the valet revealed that the president had thrown his meal against the wall in response to the attorney general’s AP interview.
Hutchinson was afterwards asked by Cheney if this was typical Trump behavior.
Hutchinson offered, “There were multiple occasions throughout my time working with the head of staff when I was aware of him either throwing plates or flicking the tablecloth to let all of the table’s contents spill onto the floor and either break or go everywhere.”