by - The Jan. 6 House Select Committee released nearly 50 transcripts of witness statements on Friday.
- One transcript describes the committee’s interview with Hope Hicks, a former Trump ally.
- “I just think he felt like it… blaming him for everything that happened wasn’t fair,” she said.
In a spate of transcripts of testimonies released Friday by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, a transcript reveals that former White House communications director Hope Hicks told the committee former President Donald Trump feels like the blame he was received for The riot on Capitol Hill was unfair.
Hicks, 34, once one of Trump’s closest allies, volunteered to give testimony, video of which was broadcast during the committee’s final hearing on Monday. She was one of the few people in Trump’s orbit to have told Trump that he lost the 2020 election, according to transcripts released Friday.
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Hicks spoke to Trump on Jan. 11, 2021, days after the deadly riot.
“He asked me if I really thought it was as bad as everyone made it out to be. And my response was, yes, I thought it would be,” the transcript reads.
She added, “I think he felt like it wasn’t fair – the reaction to that wasn’t fair.”
Hicks, who resigned from the White House on Jan. 12, 2021, said she told Trump to change his approach and appear “more rational” to observers.
“And I just said to him, I think, you know, the more rational and reserved you are, the more extreme everyone else is going to look, so things like banning social media I think are going to backfire and that, you know , if you focus on the things that people really care about and not the election, I think things get better for you politically quickly,” Hicks told the committee.
She said Trump also asked her if she believed the election was stolen, to which she objected.
“And then we just exchanged a few pleasantries and that was it,” she added.
“I just think that he felt blaming him for everything that turned out wasn’t fair,” Hicks continued.
The committee on Thursday released a detailed report on its findings in investigating the Capitol riot and how Trump was involved. They also recommended to the Justice Department that Trump be prosecuted for his role in the riot.
Hicks was not immediately available for comment.
