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Cassidy Hutchinson, a former senior aide in the Trump White House, testified on Tuesday that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sought a pardon following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Hutchinson publicly testified before the panel under oath during a hearing that was hastily announced on Monday, with the committee stating that it would “present recently obtained evidence” during the unexpected event.
Toward the end of the hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the vice chairwoman of the committee, questioned the former aide on whether Meadows, who was her boss at the time, or whether President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had indicated they were interested in pardons.
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“Mr. Meadows did seek that pardon, yes, ma’am,” Hutchinson said, also confirming that Giuliani did as well.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Meadows for comment.
The news of Meadows seeking a pardon was one of several bombshells that emerged during the hearing, with Hutchinson also testifying that former White House counsel Pat Cipollone told Meadows that if nothing was done to call for the rioters to stop the violence.
“I remember Pat [Cipollone] saying to him something to the effect of, ‘The rioters have gotten to the Capitol, Mark. We need to go down and see the president now.’ And Mark looked up at him and said, ‘He doesn’t want to do anything, Pat,’” she said. “Mark, something needs to be done, or people are going to die, or blood will be on your effing hands.”
During a hearing last week, the committee showed clips of Hutchinson and aide Johnny McEntee showed the staffers testifying that multiple GOP lawmakers close to Trump, including Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Scott Perry (R-PA), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL), attempted to be granted pardons.
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The committee also pointed to an email sent by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) to White House aide Molly Michael calling for pardons for himself, Gaetz, and GOP lawmakers who voted against certifying the election results.
Brooks, who recently lost a primary for an Alabama Senate seat after Trump withdrew his endorsement, has not ruled out publicly testifying before the panel.
Biggs and Perry have denied that they sought clemency.
