Exclusive: Jan. 6 Committee Hid Trump-Exonerating Evidence

Former Rep. Liz Cheney's January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation's capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows.

Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato's first transcribed interview with the committee was conducted on January 28, 2022.

On top of that, committee allies began publishing critical stories and even conspiracy theories about Ornato ahead of follow-up interviews with him.

"The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato's critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. Mr. Ornato's testimony proves what Mr. Meadows has said all along: President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down," said the Georgia Republican.

A January 6 committee staffer asked Ornato, "When it comes to the National Guard statement about having 10,000 troops or any other number of troops, do you recall any discussion prior to the 6th about whether and how many National Guard troops to deploy on January 6th?". Ornato surprised the committee by noting he did recall a conversation between Meadows and Bowser: "He was on the phone with her and wanted to make sure she had everything that she needed," Ornato told investigators.

Ornato said White House concerns about January 6 were related to fears that left-wing groups would clash with Trump protesters and that no one in the White House anticipated a riot at the Capitol.

The January 6 Committee prevented an investigation into Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's preparation – or lack thereof – for Capitol security ahead of the event, so it is unclear if she was as concerned about keeping the peace as Meadows and the Trump White House were.

Her report noted that the secretary of defense "Ultimately did deploy the Guard. Although evidence identifies a likely miscommunication between members of the civilian leadership in the Department of Defense impacting the timing of deployment, the Committee has found no evidence that the Department of Defense intentionally delayed deployment of the National Guard. The Select Committee recognizes that some at the Department had genuine concerns, counseling caution, that President Trump might give an illegal order to use the military in support of his efforts to overturn the election.”

The Colorado court, whose efforts to remove Trump from the ballot were so extreme they were overturned this week by a unanimous Supreme Court, claimed Patel's "Testimony regarding Trump authorizing" at least 10,000 National Guardsmen was "Illogical" and "Completely devoid of any evidence in the record." Because Ornato's corroborating information had been suppressed from the public record by the January 6 committee, the Colorado Supreme Court improperly dismissed evidence.

While the story of Trump overcoming a Secret Service agent would not be told for months, Ornato pre-rebutted it in his testimony.

Ornato said Trump had driven by a previous rally, had flown over another, and that handlers had previously decided against him joining the day's events.

Later, Hutchinson would claim Ornato had been the source of her dramatic tale that Trump had commandeered the presidential vehicle and demanded to be taken to the Capitol.