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Cassidy Hutchinson
Cassidy Hutchinson testifying on June 28, 2022 before the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack
Born
Cassidy Jacqueline Hutchinson[1]

1996 (age 27–28)[2]
Mercer County, New Jersey, US
Other namesCass
Alma materChristopher Newport University (BA)
OccupationFormer assistant to the White House Chief of Staff
Years activeMarch 2019– January 2021
Known forTestimony before the January 6 Committee June 28, 2022
Political partyRepublican Party

Cassidy Jacqueline Hutchinson (born 1996) is a former White House aide and assistant to former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.[3]

Hutchinson has become a valuable witness to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack,[4] and testified on June 28, 2022, at the Committee's public hearings.[5][6] Hutchinson testified that Trump and Meadows knew some supporters at Trump's January 6 rally had weapons, including firearms, that prevented them from entering the rally, but Trump ordered them to be admitted. She testified that she was told that after Trump's rally speech, he physically struggled with a Secret Service agent inside the presidential limousine, trying to force the agent to drive him to the Capitol rather than back to the White House. She said that in the days before the attack on the Capitol, she had overheard conversations at the White House amongst Trump's inner circle discussing the involvement of two violent far-right groups who supported the president's agenda: the Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers, leaders of which were later indicted for their alleged roles in the attack. Hutchinson also stated that both Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows had requested presidential pardons.[7]

Early life and education

Hutchinson is from Pennington, New Jersey[8] and graduated from Hopewell Valley Central High School in 2015.[1] She was a member of the girl's track team,[9] served on the Hopewell Township Youth Advisory Committee, and was awarded the Hopewell Township Mayor's Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution for her "exceptional efforts" on the committee.[1] Hutchinson attended Christopher Newport University and graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.[10]

Career

Hutchinson became an intern in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs in the summer of 2018. In March 2019 she became a special assistant to the president, assigned to Meadows, through the end of the Trump presidency. She previously interned for Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Republican US House of Representatives whip Steve Scalise.[11][12][13]

January 6 Committee testimony

Main article: United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack public hearings § Sixth hearing — June 28, 2022

Hutchinson had provided closed-door depositions to the committee prior to testifying on live television on June 28, 2022.

Testimony to events leading to January 6

During the June 28 sworn testimony, Hutchinson testified that she had overheard mention of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys during planning of the January 6 Trump rally, when Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was present. Several leaders of both groups were later indicted on seditious conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in the January 6 attack. Hutchinson testified that both Meadows and Giuliani sought presidential pardons.[14]

Hutchinson also revealed in her testimony that Donald Trump threw his lunch plate against a wall in a White House dining room on December 1, 2020, when he learned that Attorney General William Barr had made a public statement that he had not discovered any evidence of election fraud.[4] The wall was splashed with ketchup.[4] On other occasions, he had removed the tablecloth from beneath everything on the table.[4]

Testimony to events on January 6

She testified Trump and Meadows were told some individuals were carrying weapons, including firearms, and therefore could not clear magnetometers to enter the rally; Trump insisted that he didn't care if his supporters had weapons and ordered the magnetometers removed, saying ″They’re not here to hurt me."[15] The committee played radio transmissions of police warning of people with guns, including AR-15s.[14]

Hutchinson testified she had been told by then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato that after Trump got into the presidential limousine after his rally, hoping to drive to the Capitol as his supporters marched there, his lead Secret Service agent Robert Engel told him it was too dangerous and informed him they were returning to the White House. According to Hutchinson, Trump became irate and attempted to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle, and lunged at Engel's clavicles.[14] However, two Secret Service agents, including the one referred to by Hutchinson in her testimony, are prepared to testify before Congress that Trump did not lunge at a steering wheel or assault them in an attempt to go to the Capitol.[16][17]

As the insurrection unfolded, Hutchinson recalled White House counsel Pat Cipollone telling Meadows words to the effect of, "Mark, we need to do something more, they're literally calling for the vice president to be fucking hung," to which Meadows replied, "You heard it, Pat, he thinks Mike deserves it, he doesn't think they're doing anything wrong."[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c "HOPEWELL VALLEY: High school presents awards". CentralJersey.com. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Haberman, Maggie (June 28, 2022). "Cassidy Hutchinson Stuns With Testimony About Trump on Jan. 6". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022. She was 22 years old, a rising college senior who went to work as a summer intern in the Trump White House in 2018.
  3. ^ Levine, Mike; Faulders, Katherine (June 28, 2022). "Former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson to testify at Jan. 6 hearing, sources say". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Seddiq, Oma (June 28, 2022). "Trump threw dishes and flipped tablecloths 'several times' in the White House, ex-aide Cassidy Hutchinson testifies". Business Insider. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Wagner, John; Alemany, Jacqueline (June 28, 2022). "Former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson expected to testify at surprise hearing". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  6. ^ Broadwater, Luke; Haberman, Maggie (June 28, 2022). "Jan. 6 Panel to Hear From Meadows Aide on 'Recently Obtained Evidence' - Cassidy Hutchinson, who has provided the committee with important testimony behind closed doors, publically testified on June 28, 2022 as a key witness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Hartmann, Margaret (June 28, 2022). "The Most Explosive Revelations From Cassidy Hutchinson's Testimony". New York. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. ^ David Wildstein (June 28, 2022). "(Twitter post)". Twitter. Always a Jersey connection: Cassidy Hutchinson is from Pennington.
  9. ^ Borders, Andrew (March 31, 2015). "Times of Trenton area girls track capsules". NJ.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "Christopher Newport University Commencement Exercises" (PDF). Christopher Newport University. May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  11. ^ McGuire, Brian (November 5, 2021). "A Captain in the 'People's House'". Christopher Newport University. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Olmstead, Molly (June 9, 2022). "The Jan. 6 Hearing's Most Damning Testimony Could Come From a Twentysomething Former Trump Aide". Slate. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Feinberg, Andrew (June 28, 2022). "Cassidy Hutchinson: Who is ex-Meadows aide testifying before January 6 committee?". The Independent. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d Adrienne Vogt; Elise Hammond; Aditi Sangal; Melissa Macaya; Mike Hayes; CNN (June 28, 2022). "Jan. 6 committee holds sixth hearing". CNN. ((cite news)): |author6= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ Ramirez, Nikki McCann; Ramirez, Nikki McCann (June 28, 2022). "Trump Demanded Armed Supporters Be Let Into Rally Before Calling for Capitol March". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^ Spunt, David; Best, Paul (June 28, 2022). "Secret Service agents are willing to testify that Trump didn't lunge at steering wheel during Capitol riot: source". Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  17. ^ Sganga, Nicole; Albert, Victoria (June 28, 2022). "Secret Service plans to respond to Jan. 6 committee regarding Trump's actions, after Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony". Retrieved June 29, 2022.
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