Jan. 6 hearing live: Prime-time testimony highlights Trump’s actions during Capitol riot

Pat Cipollone responds with awkward silence when asked if Trump wanted rioters to leave

White House counsel Pat Cipollone was seemingly stunned into silence when pressed about whether former President Donald Trump wanted rioters to leave the Capitol on Jan. 6, drawing laughter from the audience.

Investigators pressed Cipollone on who in the White House wanted the rioters to leave the Capitol.

“On the staff?,” he asked in response. “I can’t think of anybody. you know, on that day, who didn’t want people to get out of the Capitol, particularly once the violence started.”

“What about the president,” Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) asked in response.

“She said the staff,” he replied.

“No I said in the White House,” she shot back.

After a brief exchange of apologies for the miscommunication, Cipollone preceded to answer the question.

“Obviously I think,” he said, before looking at his lawyers.

He then paused.

“Yeah,” he said. in the clip.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) explained that Cipollone was concerned about executive privilege.

“Although Pat Cipollone has been careful about executive privilege. There really is no ambiguity about what he said. Almost everybody wanted President Trump to instruct the mob to disperse,” Kinzinger said. “President Trump refused to understand how inadequate the President’s tweets were.”