David French, a conservative critic of Mr Trump, had been skeptical that the committee would produce enough evidence. “But Hutchinson’s sworn testimony fills a gap in the criminal case against Trump,” he wrote on The Dispatch, a conservative website. Two law professors, Alan Z. Rozenshtein of the University of Minnesota and Jed Handelsman Shugerman of Fordham University, also opposed the lawsuits until they saw Ms Hutchinson, writing on the Lawfare blog that she changed her mind because she provided “evidence of intent”.
The hearings, which will continue after Congress returns on July 11 from recess, presented only the prosecution’s side of the story. With Mr. Trump’s acquiescence, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, chose not to appoint anyone to the select committee after Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected some of his initial selections, leaving the panel made up entirely of Democrats and two Republicans who were deeply critical of the former president.
Neither Ms. Hutchinson nor any of the other witnesses who testified were cross-examined. Their testimony was often presented in short, edited clips rather than in full, and no testimony to the contrary was offered publicly. In a courtroom, if it ever came to that, the case against Mr. Trump would be tested in a way it has not been hitherto.
“The committee presentation was a purely political exercise, misleadingly edited,” said Jason Miller, who served as political adviser to Mr. Trump during and after the election.
Yet even outside the confines of the courtroom, Mr. Miller and others in Mr. Trump’s camp mostly attacked the committee or attempted to undermine elements of the testimony rather than produce much of it. defense of the actions of the former president or a substitute. explanation of his state of mind.
In his social media posts, Mr Trump denied asking that armed supporters be allowed into his rally. “Who would ever want that?” he wrote. “Not me!” He focused more of his energy on castigating Ms Hutchinson in scathing personal terms (“whacko”, “total phony”) and focused on a small aspect of his testimony, namely whether he rushed the wheel from his presidential vehicle when his secret service detail refused to take him to the Capitol on January 6.