Former president Donald Trump is trying to discredit the bombshell testimony of a former White House special assistant who reported to his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

Cassidy Hutchinson said several shocking things to the Congressional committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. They included:

* Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told her on January 2, 2021 that Trump supporters "were going to take the Capitol" and Trump was going to be there;

* Trump's chief of staff, Meadows, told her on January 2, 2021 that "things might get real, real bad on January 6th", which made Hutchinson feel scared;

* When Trump lost his temper, he flipped a table cloth so that dishes crashed on the floor. She also claimed he threw plates and his lunch against the wall after then attorney general told the media that there was no evidence of voter fraud;

* Trump didn't want people attending his January 6 rally in Washington to be screened for weapons because they weren't there to hurt him;

* She was told by Tony Ornato, the former assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service Office of Training, that a furious Trump allegedly grabbed the wheel of "the Beast"—the vehicle carrying him back to the White House on January 6. This was to try to force the driver to take him to the Capitol after his speech rousing the crowd.

Trump responded on his social media site Truth Social, by claiming that Hutchinson is "a total phony" and a "leaker". He also claimed to have personally turned down her request to work with other members of his team in Florida after he left the White House.

Trump also claimed that he hardly knew Hutchinson, even though her office in the West Wing was a five- to 10-second walk from the Oval Office.