Cassidy Hutchinson, former Trump White House aide, received at least one message tacitly warning her not to cooperate with the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 from an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, according to two sources familiar with the case.
Related: Ex-White House Employee Delivers Explosive Public Testimony for Jan. 6 Panel
The message in question was the second of two warnings released by the select committee at the end of its special hearing when Hutchinson testified about how Donald Trump directed a mob he knew were armed to march toward the Capitol, the sources said.
†[A person] let me know you have your statement tomorrow. He wants me to let you know that he is thinking of you. He knows that you are loyal and that you will do the right thing if you make your statement,” the message read. The editors were Meadows, the sources said.
The message was presented during the closing remarks at the special hearing with Hutchinson by the panel’s vice chair, Liz Cheney, who described the message as undue pressure on a key witness that could lead to illegal witness manipulation or intimidation.
The exact identity of the person who sent Hutchinson the message — aside from the fact that they were a Meadows employee — could not be confirmed on Thursday, but that may be partly because the select committee may want to interview that person, the sources said. †
That seems to indicate that the person who sent the message was a close associate of the former White House chief of staff, who may have personally witnessed what Trump and Meadows were doing and thinking prior to the attack on the Capitol.
Neither a Meadows spokesperson nor Hutchinson responded to a request for comment Thursday night.
The other message was also addressed to Hutchinson, the sources said; the quote on the slide was one of several calls from Trump allies that Hutchinson told House investigators.
“What they told me is that as long as I stay a team player, they know I’m on the team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting who I’m supposed to protect, you know, I’ll be in favor in Trump World” , the slide read.
“And they reminded me a few times that Trump reads transcripts and to keep that in mind as I went through my statements and interviews with the committee.”
The identities of the people who called Hutchinson and supposedly warned her… not to involve the former presidentcould not be established beyond the fact that they were people close to Trump, although the select committee is believed to be aware of all people.
Politico, who was the first to report that the message to Hutchinson came from a Meadows employee, also reported that it came before her second interview with the select committee. Hutchinson changed attorneys before her fourth statement preceding her public testimony.