Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbert, and we are tracking several stories in what is,

you may have noticed, an unusually busy news week for the end of December. Even more transcripts

dropping from the January 6th probe, including star witness Cassidy Hutchinson. It's fact, although

she's been a star for a minute now, this is the first time we've had access to her entire testimony, all of the depositions.

And it's some of the new evidence that Rachel and our team has really been dissecting from when it first started to come out in real time, including during last night's coverage.

And all of this is Congress is balancing a historic address

by Ukraine's president in its end of the year deadlines, including voting to fund the government,

shore up Ukraine's defense, and pass brand new laws that coup-proof the U.S. against future

magistyle tricks, tactics, or even outright insurrections.

If you're saying, gosh, Ari, that sounds new. If there's going to be a big new law banning coups, why didn't I hear about it much yet? Well, that was actually part of the strategy, which is pretty interesting. I have that story coming up soon tonight. But our top story is the new transcripts that keep dropping. Five more in the past hour. They show the rift

between the Stonewallers, Eastman, Clark Stone, no pun intended, and some of those who cooperate,

including what may prove to be damning testimony from witnesses in any future criminal trials.

Take Hutchinson, who's now blowing the whistle on a Trump lawyer who coached her to exploit the fact that the committee doesn't know what you can and can't recall.

This is what she says the lawyer said.

So we want to be able to use that as much as we can unless you really, really remember something clearly.

The lawyer goes on to tell her, we're taking care of you.

Just downplay your position. It'll be over in a few hours.

Now, what did they want to downplay? Why downplay her position or what she knows?

Well, above all, the then secret account of Trump's effort to go physically join the insurrection in real time at the Capitol.

Again, this is new stuff that Hutchinson previously testified.

The lawyer sat back in the chair and said, no, no, no, no, no.

We don't want you to go there.

...