Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson received at least one implicit message warning her not to cooperate with the White House selection committee on January 6 from an associate of the former White House chief of staff. Mark Meadowsaccording to two sources familiar with the matter.
The message in question was the second of two that the selection committee revealed at the end of the special hearing when Hutchinson testified about how Donald Trump Sources said he directed a crowd he knew were armed to march on the Capitol.
“[A person] let me know you have your deposit tomorrow. He wants me to let you know that he’s thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’ll do the right thing when it comes to your prop,” read the message. Sources say the force that responded was Meadows.
The message is presented in the closing comment at the special hearing with Hutchinson by vice-chairman of the panel Liz Cheney, who described being wronged as putting inappropriate pressure on a key witness that could extend to unlawful witness tampering or intimidation.
The exact identity of the person who sent Hutchinson’s message – aside from the fact that they were Meadows associates – could not be confirmed on Thursday, but that could be in part because the selection committee may want an interview. that person, sources said.
That seems to indicate that the sender of the message was a close associate of the former White House chief of staff, who could be the actual witness to what Trump and Meadows were doing and thinking before the Capitol attack. .
Neither Meadows nor Hutchinson spoke to requests for comment on Thursday night.
Sources said other messages were also aimed at Hutchinson; The quote shown on the slide was among a number of calls from Trump allies that Hutchinson recounted to House investigators.
“What they told me was, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I’m on the team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting the people I need to protect, you know. there, I will continue to stay in good graces in Trump World,” the slide.
“And they reminded me a couple of times that Trump reads the transcript and just needs to keep that in mind as I continue with the depositions and interviews with the committee.”
The identity of the people who called Hutchinson, warn her maybe unrelated to the former presidentcannot be established beyond the fact that they are close to Trump, although the selection committee is understood to be the perception of all.
Politico, which first reported that the message for Hutchinson came from a Meadows associate, also reported that it came before her second interview with the selection committee. Hutchinson changed attorneys before being ousted a fourth time in light of her public testimony.