Former White House adviser Jared Kushner was slammed for dismissing the threats by then-White House counsel Pat Cipollone to resign ahead of the Capitol riots as “whining”.
A year and a half after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, the January 6 House select committee on Thursday opened its hearing with video footage that showed a number of his most trusted aides and advisers, including his daughter Ivanka Trump, explaining that they knew the election was not stolen.
Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the committee, opened the panel with a stark warning that set to lay out the stakes of the proceedings: American democracy “remains in danger”.
Mr Thompson said America could not “sweep what happened” on 6 January 2021 “under the rug”.
Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, who is a member of the investigating committee, asked Mr Kushner during a recorded deposition if he was aware of Mr Cipollone threatening to resign ahead of the insurrection.
“I kind of, like I said, my interest at that time was on trying to get as many pardons done,” said Mr Kushner, who is married to the former president’s eldest daughter Ivanka Trump.
He testified: “And I know that, you know, him and the team were always saying, ‘Oh we’re going to resign, we’re not going to be here if this happens, if that happens.’ So I kind of took it up to just be whining, to be honest to you.”
Ms Cheney said the threats from Mr Cipollone to resign showed the seriousness of the matter, which was brushed off by Mr Kushner and other Trump aides. “It requires immediate attention,” the congresswoman said.
People on Twitter tore into Mr Kushner after his testimony. “Holy f****** s***, Jared Kushner is a slimy weasel,” wrote user Jeff Tiedrich.
“So that Jared Kushner clip, eh? Sheesh,” wrote journalist Mehdi Hasan.
Writer Tim Miller added: “Is there a less likeable person in public life than Jared Kushner? Feels like he is at least top four.”
“Every rare utterance from Jared Kushner reminds you of what an arrogant, insufferable little s*** he is,” wrote commentator Tommy Vietor.
The president’s daughter in one of the first videos played by committee members during their opening statements said she accepted attorney general Bill Barr’s assertion was not stolen from Mr Trump.
“I respected AG Barr, and accepted what he was saying,” Ms Trump told the committee in her recorded testimony.
Mr Barr had dismissed the former president’s claim of election fraud as “bulls***”.
“Frankly, a year and a half later, I’ve seen nothing to change my mind on that,” Mr Barr said in his testimony.
Ms Cheney directly blamed Mr Trump for the attack on the US Capitol, saying the former president “summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack”.
“Those who invaded our Capitol and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them: that the election was stolen, and that he was the rightful president,” she said.
