Author Topic: Former Meadows aide to testify at last-minute Jan. 6 hearing (Read 1036 times)

mystery-ak · « **on:** June 28, 2022, 01:34:40 pm »

Former Meadows aide to testify at last-minute Jan. 6 hearing
by Rebecca Beitsch - 06/28/22 12:04 AM ET

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former special assistant to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is the mystery guest that will speak at a last-minute hearing organized by the House Jan. 6 committee, according to multiple reports.

Hutchinson has already provided a wealth of information to the committee, sitting with its investigators over the course of three separate interviews.

It was a taped deposition with Hutchinson that the committee used to detail which Republican lawmakers had sought pardons from Trump. It was her testimony that indicated that Meadows had been warned about the potential for violence on Jan. 6, 2021. And Hutchinson also told investigators White House lawyers had advised against the Trump campaign’s alternate elector scheme.

Hutchinson would be the first White House employee to testify publicly before the committee. Her appearance was first reported by Punchbowl News.

While Meadows proved an elusive subject for the committee, Hutchinson has been able to detail many of the goings on at the White House in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

She detailed numerous meetings Meadows organized with lawmakers and was in the West Wing on Jan. 6.

Her appearance comes after the committee reversed course in announcing it would suspend hearings until July, announcing a hearing with exactly 24 hours notice and without providing any other details as to the identity of its new witness.

Instead, the committee only said it would convene to “present recently obtained evidence.”

The move left speculation over who would appear, particularly after its vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), made a public plea for former White House counsel Pat Cipollone to appear for testimony. The committee had also recently interviewed a British documentarian after subpoenaing footage from his interviews with former President Trump, his children and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Hutchinson’s appearance comes after she recently changed representation, replacing Trump-linked attorney Stefan Passantino with Jody Hunt of Alston and Bird.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3539077-former-meadows-aide-to-testify-at-last-minute-jan-6-hearing/

mystery-ak · « **Reply #1 on:** June 28, 2022, 05:55:50 pm »

Former Trump White House aide says DNI Ratcliffe ‘didn’t want much to do’ with post-election efforts

1:37 p.m.

Cassidy Hutchinson, former special assistant to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified to the Jan. 6 select committee that former Trump Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe “didn’t want much to do” with the White House’s efforts following the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair of the panel, noted that Hutchinson, who testified publicly on Tuesday, spoke with Ratcliffe in December, 2020.

“My understanding was Director Ratcliffe didn’t want much to do with the post-election period,” Hutchinson told the committee, according to a clip of previous testimony presented at Tuesday’s hearing.

“Director Ratcliffe felt that it wasn’t something that the White House should be pursuing. It felt it was dangerous for the president’s legacy. He had expressed to me that he was concerned that it could spiral out of control and potentially be dangerous either for our democracy or the way that things were going for the 6th,” she added.

Asked by committee investigators what Hutchinson was referring to when she said “it wasn’t something that the White House should be pursuing,” the former Trump aide listed off a number of post-election efforts that were embraced by Trump and his top allies.

“Trying to fight the results of the election. Finding missing ballots, pressuring— filing lawsuits in certain states where there didn’t seem to be significant evidence, and reaching out to state legislators about that. So pretty much the way that the White House was handling the post-election period,” Hutchinson said in previous testimony.

“He felt that there could be dangerous repercussions in terms of precedent set for elections, for our democracy, for the 6th, you know, he was hoping that we would concede,” she added.

Ratcliffe served as DNI between 2020 and 2021. Before that, he represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives for roughly five years.

— Mychael Schnell

mystery-ak · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2022, 05:56:30 pm »

Hutchinson: Meadows said events could go ‘real bad’ on Jan. 6

1:24 p.m.

Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday that former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows expressed concern events could get “real bad” on Jan. 6, 2021, just day before the riots at the Capitol unfolded.

Hutchinson, a former top aide to Meadows, said she spoke to Rudy Giuliani on Jan. 2, 2021. Giuliani, who was representing Trump at the time, said he expected Trump to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and “it’s going to be powerful.”

Hutchinson said she relayed the conversation to Meadows, who responded with “something to the effect of, ‘there’s a lot going on, Cass, but I don’t know, things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6.’”

“I was apprehensive about the 6th. But when hearing Rudy’s take on Jan. 6 and Mark’s response, that was the first moment that I remember feeling scared and nervous for what could happen on Jan. 6,” Hutchinson testified.

“And I had a deeper concern for what was happening with the planning aspects of it.”

— Brett Samuels

mystery-ak · « **Reply #3 on:** June 28, 2022, 05:57:42 pm »

Farah Griffin praises Hutchinson’s ‘bravery’

1:09 p.m.

Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah praised Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Mark Meadows while he was former President Trump’s chief of staff, before she testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“I can’t imagine the pressure Cassidy has been under to defy Congress, facing harassment and threats,” Farah wrote in a tweet on Tuesday. “But she’s putting the country first and for that I am grateful to her & in awe of her bravery.”

The committee made a surprise announcement on Monday that it would hold a hearing on Tuesday.

The first White House employee to publicly testify before the panel, Hutchinson is believed to have information about what transpired in the chief of staff’s office following the 2020 presidential election.

Since leaving the White House, Farah has been hired as a political analyst on CNN and served as a guest host on ABC’s “The View.” She has written a book about her experiences in the White House and has criticized Trump, his allies in Congress and his repeated false claims of a “stolen” election.

— Dominick Mastrangelo

libertybele · « **Reply #4 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:05:23 pm »

(My soap was interrupted once again for the J6 special report.)

I watched about 10 minutes with Cheney interviewing Cassidy Hutchinson. I turned it off when she testified that she was afraid of what was going to transpire on J6 because it was a threat to democracy. Meadows was mentioned as was her conversation with Giuliani and she relayed that conversation to Meadows. (I'm biased towards Trump of course) IMO this testimony was rehearsed and the questions asked to prompt a damaging testimony. They even had a mock-up of the West Wing and asked her to confirm her location within the West Wing.

There is no coming back from all of this. It is very obvious that they will likely conclude that Trump should be indicted or at least stipulate that he can never hold political office again. Just my opinion here.

Jan. 6 hearing to feature ex-Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson in surprise committee meeting

A high-ranking aide in former President Donald Trump's administration is set to testify in a surprise hearing of the Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday.

Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide of Trump former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is expected to appear and testify at the ongoing committee hearings regarding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Hutchinson's position as a high-ranking aide under Meadows has excited many hoping for insider information on the events of the riots from the perspective of the West Wing....................

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-hearing-ex-meadows-aide-cassidy-hutchinson-surprise-committee-meeting

Bigun · « **Reply #5 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:10:42 pm »

Quote from: libertybele on June 28, 2022, 06:05:23 pm

(My soap was interrupted once again for the J6 special report.)

I watched about 10 minutes with Cheney interviewing Cassidy Hutchinson. I turned it off when she testified that she was afraid of what was going to transpire on J6 because it was a threat to democracy. Meadows was mentioned as was her conversation with Giuliani and she relayed that conversation to Meadows. (I'm biased towards Trump of course) IMO this testimony was rehearsed and the questions asked to prompt a damaging testimony. They even had a mock-up of the West Wing and asked her to confirm her location within the West Wing.

There is no coming back from all of this. It is very obvious that they will likely conclude that Trump should be indicted or at least stipulate that he can never hold political office again. Just my opinion here.

Jan. 6 hearing to feature ex-Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson in surprise committee meeting

A high-ranking aide in former President Donald Trump's administration is set to testify in a surprise hearing of the Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday.

Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide of Trump former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is expected to appear and testify at the ongoing committee hearings regarding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Hutchinson's position as a high-ranking aide under Meadows has excited many hoping for insider information on the events of the riots from the perspective of the West Wing....................

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-hearing-ex-meadows-aide-cassidy-hutchinson-surprise-committee-meeting

This is a Soviet style show trial @libertybele ALL conclusions were made prior to it even starting. I won't be wasting one second of my time watching this farce!

libertybele · « **Reply #6 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:13:00 pm »

Quote from: Bigun on June 28, 2022, 06:10:42 pm

Had my soap not been interrupted I wouldn't have paid it any attention @Bigun It is so obvious that her testimony was rehearsed. I wonder how much Cassidy is getting paid?

mystery-ak · « **Reply #7 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:35:44 pm »

Trump threw lunch at wall over Barr dismissing claims of fraud

2:23 p.m.

Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday that former President Trump was so upset that then-Attorney General William Barr dismissed claims of widespread election fraud that he threw his lunch at the wall in the West Wing dining room.

Hutchinson recalled hearing noise from down the hall shortly after Barr’s interview with the Associated Press went live in which Barr said he had not seen evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary.

“I first noticed there was ketchup dripping down the wall, and there was a shattered porcelain plate,” Hutchinson testified to the House panel.

“The valet had articulated that the president was extremely angry at the attorney general’s AP interview and had thrown his lunch against the wall, which was causing them to have to clean up. “So I grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off the wall to help the valet out.”

Hutchinson said it was not the only time she’d heard of Trump losing his temper. She said there were “several times throughout my tenure with the chief of staff that I was aware of him either throwing dishes or flipping the table cloth.”

— Brett Samuels

mystery-ak · « **Reply #8 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:36:18 pm »

Trump struggled for wheel against Secret Service agent when told he couldn’t go to Capitol, ex-aide says

2:18 p.m.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide in the Trump White House, testified on Tuesday that former President Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his Secret Service vehicle on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was told he could not go to the Capitol with his supporters.

Hutchinson and other former White House aides told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots that Trump had been pushing to go the Capitol after giving a speech on the Ellipse on Jan. 6.

Hutchinson told the committee that then-deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato told her that Trump was “irate” when Robert Engel, the special agent in charge for Secret Service on Jan. 6, told Trump when he got into the presidential limo that going to the Capitol would not be possible.

“The president had a very strong a very angry response to that,” Hutchinson testified. “Tony described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the f–ing president, take me up to the Capitol now.’”

“[Engel] said, ‘Sir we have to go back to the West Wing,’” Hutchinson continued. “The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, ‘Sir you need to take your hand off the steering wheel, we’re going back to the West Wing we’re not going to the Capitol.

“Trump then used free hand to lunge at Bobby Engel,” Hutchinson testified.

— Brett Samuels

mystery-ak · « **Reply #9 on:** June 28, 2022, 06:38:27 pm »

Top White House lawyer raised ‘serious legal concerns’ about Trump’s plan to speak at Jan. 6 rally not here to hurt me

2:10 p.m.

Pat Cipollone, Trump’s former White House counsel, had “serious legal concerns” about the then president’s plans to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, warning it could potentially lead to criminal charges, Hutchinson told the select committee.

Hutchinson testified that as early as Jan. 3, the White House’s top lawyer was warning of the criminal liability if Trump’s supporters committed violence following the president’s remarks.

“We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen,” Hutchinson said Cipollone told her on Jan. 3.

The Meadows aide said Cipollone specifically cited concerns about being charged with obstructing justice, obstructing Congress’s certification of the Electoral College results and “he was also worried that it would look like we were inciting a riot or encouraging a riot.”

The revelation adds another instance where Trump had been warned of potential legal ramifications posed by the various efforts to overturn the election.

According to the select committee, Cipollone’s comments followed several instances where national security and intelligence officials had warned of the possibility of violence being carried out on Jan. 6.

— Harper Neidig

Trump knew about weapons, says aide: ‘They’re not here to hurt me’

1:52 p.m.

Ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday testified that former President Trump and his former chief of staff Mark Meadows were both told attendees at the Jan. 6, 2021, Ellipse rally had weapons, and that Trump was frustrated that security measures were keeping those with weapons from joining the rally crowd.

Hutchinson, a former top aide to Meadows, told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot that Trump was “furious” that the Ellipse near the White House had not filled up to capacity for a rally on the morning of the Electoral College certification.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair of the panel, noted that Hutchinson, who testified publicly on Tuesday, spoke with Ratcliffe in December, 2020.

“I was in the vicinity of a conversation where I overheard the president say something to the effect of, ‘I don’t f—— care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me. Take the f—— mags away,’” Hutchinson testified.

Hutchinson was referring to the magnetometers used by Secret Service to scan for weapons.

— Brett Samuels

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #10 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:02:47 pm »

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #11 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:03:40 pm »

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #12 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:04:34 pm »

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #13 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:07:03 pm »

Jack Posobiec
@JackPosobiec

Committee: "So where did you discover all these 'suddenly remembered' stories about Jan 6?"

Witness:

2:10 PM · Jun 28, 2022 Twitter Web App

mystery-ak · « **Reply #14 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:20:15 pm »

Meadows, Giuliani asked for pardons over Jan. 6
by Harper Neidig - 06/28/22 3:25 PM ET

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump legal adviser Rudy Giuliani asked former President Trump for pardons in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, a former White House aide testified on Tuesday.

Cassidy Hutchinson, one of Meadows’s top aides in the White House, was asked during a Jan. 6 select committee hearing whether the two men had requested pardons over the attack following a series of bombshells about Trump’s actions that day.

“Mr. Meadows did seek that pardon, yes ma’am,” Hutchinson said in response to the question from Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s vice chair, after also confirming Giuliani’s own request for a pardon.

The revelations capped off a hearing filled with new details about the internal White House turmoil before, during and after the attack on the Capitol.

Attorneys for Meadows and Giuliani did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

As early as Jan. 2, 2021, Meadows predicted, “Things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6,” according to Hutchinson. White House lawyers and national security officials delivered grave warnings about the potential for violence and even potential criminal liability for White House aides ahead of Jan. 6.

Hutchinson testified that on the day of the attack, as news coverage was showing rioters closing in on the Capitol, she found Meadows sitting in his office, apparently unconcerned by the chaos.

She said White House counsel Pat Cipollone rushed into the chief of staff’s office and told him, “Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your f——- hands. This is getting out of control.”

The next day, as White House aides were drafting a speech Trump was to deliver as part of an effort to head off the possibility that cabinet officials would remove him from office using the 25th Amendment, Meadows argued in favor of including language about pardoning those involved in the attack.

And on Jan. 5, according to Hutchinson, Trump instructed Meadows to get in contact with Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, two Trump allies who had already received presidential pardons and had been promoting the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Stone had reportedly been involved in coordinating post-election protests and was staying at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., that week, where he and other pro-Trump figures were monitoring events surrounding the “Stop the Steal” rally.

Hutchinson said she had advised Meadows not to visit Stone’s Willard Hotel “war room” on Jan. 5, and he instead called into a discussion with the right-wing provocateur. She testified that she did not have firsthand knowledge of what Meadows discussed with Stone and Flynn.

Updated at 3:56 p.m.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3540140-meadows-giuliani-asked-for-pardons-over-jan-6/

libertybele · « **Reply #15 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:23:44 pm »

Quote from: Right_in_Virginia on June 28, 2022, 08:07:03 pm

Jack Posobiec
@JackPosobiec

Committee: "So where did you discover all these 'suddenly remembered' stories about Jan 6?"

Witness:

2:10 PM · Jun 28, 2022 Twitter Web App

Cassidy's testimony amounts to nothing more than a crock of crappola!

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #16 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:25:15 pm »

mystery-ak · « **Reply #17 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:29:01 pm »

I want to know why the hurry to have this *witness* testify today.

She had previously spoke to the panel when she was represented by different lawyers connected to the Trump Admin. Now she has a whole group of lawyers representing her....why the new lawyers?, who is paying for them?...and what will she gain with this testimony?

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #18 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:55:15 pm »

"My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who saw Trump grab the steering wheel. I guess it’s pretty serious.” @StarChamberMaid https://t.co/zkhFpvtt5P— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) June 28, 2022

Right_in_Virginia · « **Reply #19 on:** June 28, 2022, 08:58:49 pm »

Then, Trump hotwired a helicopter & took off. But not before a secret service agent wrapped his belt around a skid & used it to climb on board. A fight ensued & the helicopter crashed into the Potomac. Both died in the crash but Pfizer revived them with unicorn powder.— Brendon B Sayin (@BrendonBSayin) June 28, 2022

mystery-ak · « **Reply #20 on:** June 28, 2022, 09:27:17 pm »

White House aide testifies Trump sent armed mob to Capitol
by Mike Lillis and Rebecca Beitsch - 06/28/22 4:51 PM ET

Former President Trump, well aware his supporters were heavily armed on Jan. 6, was so determined to join them at the Capitol that he attacked a motorcade driver who refused to transport him there, according to a former high-level White House aide testifying before Congress on Tuesday.

The revelation of a physical confrontation between a frustrated president and his own staff was just one of many bombshells disclosed by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, who painted an extraordinary portrait of a White House in chaos as the attack on the Capitol unfolded, aides scrambled to convince the president to intervene and Trump refused to do so.

Hutchinson, the first White House employee to testify publicly before the House committee investigating last year’s riot, suggested there was nothing spontaneous about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. She described a series of meetings in early January when members of Trump’s inner circle were planning for the protests and depicted Meadows and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, as practically complicit in the riot.

Both had suggested ahead of time that they knew the protests of Jan. 6 would turn violent, she testified, and both of them would later request presidential pardons.

“We’re going to the Capitol. It’s going to be great. The president is going to be there, he’s going to look powerful,” Giuliani told Hutchinson on Jan. 2, she testified.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3540303-white-house-aide-testifies-trump-sent-armed-mob-to-capitol/

mystery-ak · « **Reply #21 on:** June 28, 2022, 09:28:52 pm »

I hope some journalist is investigating this broad...something is rotten imho...

mountaineer · « **Reply #22 on:** June 29, 2022, 11:26:06 am »

Need to indict Cheney, Kinzinger, et al., for subornation of perjury.

corbe · « **Reply #23 on:** June 29, 2022, 01:30:19 pm »

McCarthy could have followed Barney's advice, but he hated Trump too.

Wingnut · « **Reply #24 on:** June 29, 2022, 01:44:49 pm »

Quote

Secret Service Lead And Presidential Driver Both Prepared to Testify Under Oath That Trump 'Steering Wheel Lunge' Never Happened, No 'Assault' Took Place Former Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson's "bombshell" testimony to the Jan 6 Committee was undermined within hours on Tuesday after NBC News reported that the Secret Service's lead agent and the presidential driver are both prepared to testify under oath that neither were assaulted and Trump never lunged for the steering wheel. "A source close to the Secret Service tells me both Bobby Engel, the lead agent, and the presidential limousine/SUV driver are prepared to testify

The truth doesn't matter anymore. The big lie is in and the damage is done.