It wasn’t easy for Cassidy Hutchinson to do what she did. Over the summer, the former Trump aide delivered the most shocking testimony during the Jan. 6 committee’s blockbuster hearings. Half a year later, more shocking details are coming out, not only about the former president’s antics that day but also about what hurdles Hutchinson had to jump to speak out at all. For one thing, she had to ditch a Trump lawyer who tried to get her to lie. Now it’s been revealed she reached out to another Trump World turncoat.
As per Mediaite, before speaking to the committee, Hutchinson contacted Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump’s former press secretary, who rebranded as one of his denouncers and as Meghan McCain’s replacement on The View. Griffin wound up serving as a critical “back channel,” helping the committee guide their questioning of the young aide. Hutchinson chose Griffin partly because they were already “fairly close,” but also because she knew she was no longer loyal to the 45th president.
One aspect Griffin helped Hutchinson and the committee members shape was her claim that Trump assaulted the Secret Service agent who refused to drive him to the Capitol to join the violent throngs.
“I was trying to think of things that weren’t as deliberately asked in the first few interviews that I could go in and then just hope that there would be some prodding and we could — I could be a little more transparent,” said Hutchinson. “This was for my conscience. And I wanted to be helpful.”
It was also Griffin who told Hutchinson to ditch Trump lawyer Stefan Passantino. After Hutchinson reached out to Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans who agreed to join the committee, she decided to find new representation.
Hutchinson was very worried about the blowback she might face after giving testimony. While fending off Trump World job offers — including a possible gig at Jason Miller’s far right GETTR — she found herself reading up about the Watergate scandal, to see how staffers in similar positions handled going public with what they knew. And now Trump is facing possible legal action by the Justice Department.
(Via Mediaite)