Former Meadows aide to testify at January 6 hearing

Photo Credit: AP.

A former aide to Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is billed to testify at the January 6 hearing which is due to resume at the U.S. Capitol. 

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former special assistant to Meadows will speak during a last-minute hearing organized by the House Select Committee investing the January 6 insurrection at Congress, The Hill cited multiple reports.

Hutchinson has already had four interviews with the committee, according to reports.

The Hill reported that it was a taped deposition with Hutchinson that the committee used to detail which Republican lawmakers had sought pardons from Trump. Her testimony also indicated that Meadows was warned about the potential for violence on January 6 2021, adding that White House lawyers had advised against the Trump campaign’s alternate elector scheme, according to The Hill.

Hutchinson has also detailed numerous meetings Meadows organized with lawmakers in the build up to the violent siege at the U.S. Capitol.

On Thursday footage from Hutchinson’s interviews with the committee began to appear.

“I guess Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Brooks, I know, have both advocated for there to be a blanket pardon for members involved in that meeting. … Mr. Gaetz was personally pushing for a pardon, and he was doing so since early December,” Hutchinson, referring to Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), said in the video testimony, according to The Hill.

“Mr. Biggs [Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)] did. Mr. Jordan [Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)] talked about congressional pardons, but he never asked me for one.”

 The Hill cited a CNN report that Hutchinson informed the committee of Trump’s indifference to chants of “Hang Mike Pence,” suggesting the supporters “have the right idea.”

“We had intel reports saying that there could potentially be violence on the 6th,” Hutchinson told the panel in a portion of a transcript shared in court documents in April, according to The Hill.

“And Mr. Meadows said: ‘All right. Let’s talk about it.’”

The interview released by the committee also indicated that White House counsel was pushing back against the fake elector scheme as early as the first or second week of December.

“Hey, this isn’t legally sound, we have fleshed this out internally, it’s fine that you think this, but we’re not going to entertain this in an official White House capacity on behalf of the president, we’re putting a stop to this,” Hutchinson characterized the White House counsel’s office as saying, according to The Hill.