The star witness of the Jan. 6 committee’s Tuesday hearing was contacted before her appearance by someone attempting to influence her testimony, according to a report on Thursday.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that she was contacted by someone possibly connected to former President Donald Trump before Tuesday’s hearing, according to CNN.
FORMER WHITE HOUSE LAWYER CLAIMS CASSIDY HUTCHINSON DID NOT WRITE NOTE TO TRUMP ON JAN. 6: REPORT
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the vice chairwoman of the committee, said at Tuesday’s hearing that two witnesses reported possible attempts from Trumpworld to intimidate them before testifying. Cheney did not name the witnesses, but according to the report, Hutchinson is one of those witnesses.
Cheney shared examples during Tuesday’s hearing of answers the committee received from two witnesses related to questions by the committee on witness tampering.
We commonly ask witnesses connected to Trump whether they have been contacted by anyone attempting to impact testimony.
Below are examples of answers we have received to this question. pic.twitter.com/pwxyJBf7Kl
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 28, 2022
In both responses, the witnesses told the committee that people connected to Trump told them the former president was aware they had been called before the committee and was monitoring the proceedings, hoping they would remain loyal.
Mick Mulvaney, the former White House acting chief of staff under Trump, mentioned this portion of Tuesday’s hearing as being “a serious problem for the former president.”
“The press is going to focus on some sensational revelations from today: guns, grabbing a secret service agent, etc. But the real bomb that got dropped was the implied charge of witness tampering. If there is hard evidence, that is a serious problem for the former president,” he said on Tuesday.
“Cheney’s closing is stunning: They think they have evidence of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. There is an old maxim: It’s never the crime, it’s always the cover-up. Things went very badly for the former president today. My guess is that it will get worse from here,” Mulvaney added.
Hutchinson’s identity was kept a secret by the committee leading up to Tuesday’s hearing for security reasons.
Hutchinson testified publicly for nearly two hours on Tuesday, as well as in a taped closed-door session.
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She claimed Meadows and Trump had been warned repeatedly about security concerns leading up to Jan. 6 and that Trump tried to force the Secret Service to drive him to the Capitol after his rally near the White House. She also testified that members of Trump’s inner circle sought pardons from the president for conduct related to Jan. 6.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Hutchinson’s attorney for comment.
